Stanford’s 36-Year Diving Coach Schavone Announces Retirement

For the second time in as many years, another legend of collegiate diving has announced his retirement. Dr. Rick Schavone of Stanford, who spent 36 years on the Farm, has coached his last meet for the Cardinal, just a month shy of his 65th birthday.

As a huge part of the Stanford men’s and women’s historic runs of success in the last 30 years, Schavone has a long, long list of achievements. That includes four-times winning NCAA Diving Coach of the Year (1992, 1993, 2007, and 2013), and nine times being named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year (1995 – men, 1995 – women, 1997 – women, 1999 – women, 2000 – women, 2007 – women, 2008 – women, 2013 – men, 2014 –
men).

That includes finishing his career off as the men’s Pac 12 Coach of the Year.

He also served on the 2012 Olympic coaching staff for the United States to guide his two members of that team – Kristian Ipsen and Cassidy Krug.

Schavone was not forced out because he’d slowed down at all into his 60’s. In fact, some of his group’s biggest successes have come in the last few years. Between 2012 and 2013, Kristian Ipsen won three National Championships – one on the 1-meter and two on the 3-meter. Those were the first three NCAA men’s diving titles of Schavone’s coaching career. Those three go with 7 total women’s titles to create a long legacy of success.

“I knew the time was coming. I’ll be 65-years old in a month, so I decided the time is now,” Schavone said. “I’ve been very lucky to spend 36 years at a great university coaching some amazing student-athletes. I want to thank all the Stanford divers for a wonderful rewarding journey. I hope that I’ve added something to their lives, for I can assure you they have to mine.”

Schavone is a 1971 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, with a Ph.D. from Stanford, and will be inducted into New Hampshire’s Hall of Fame later this summer. Since coming to Stanford in 1975 as a graduate assistant, he’s only spent one year away: in 1978-1979 he was the head coach at Princeton for a single season.

The diving coaching carousel isn’t as big as the swimming one; diving coaches tend to stay put and build their own programs for long stretches of time. Last year, Drew Johansen left a Duke program, where the Blue Devils were not fully funded, to take over for a different legend: outgoing Indiana coach Jeff Huber.

That was the most obvious candidate for a move last season, and Indiana jumped on the opportunity, which might leave Stanford to have to look a little deeper for their candidates. There are still plenty of talented coaches around for whom Stanford would be a significant upgrade, however. No rumors have popped up yet as to who might be on the Cardinal’s short list, but there shouldn’t be a shortage of demand to take this job.

The pieces that remain at Stanford should make for an easy transition for whomever the new coach might be. That includes All-Americans Ipsen and Bradley Christensen on the men’s side; and a huge women’s roster that includes sophomore-to-be Kassidy Cook, a former USA Diving National Champion, and NCAA qualifier Alex Clay.