After 39 seasons of coaching Ball State men’s swimming, Bob Thomas announced his retirement. In a press release, Thomas said he’s looking toward his next chapter.
“It's been an honor and a privilege to work with the hundreds of swimmers and divers over the last 39 years," Thomas said. "Now that I'm retiring, I am looking forward to my next adventure.”
In his 39-year career, Thomas earned 217 wins, including a perfect season in 1991-92. Thomas was also a four-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year (1992-93, 1994-95, 1990-00, 2002-03). Throughout his career, Thomas lead the team to two MAC runner-up finishes at MAC Championships (1992-93 and 2002-03).
This past season, Cardinals recorded 45 season-best times at the MAC Championships in Oxford, Ohio. One of those season-best times came from sophomore Logan Ackley, breaking the school-record 200-yard backstroke (1:48.81).
Thomas finishes his career as the winningest head coach in program history with 217 wins. During his coaching career, Thomas had four of his student-athletes honored for their work in the classroom with Academic All-America selections, and teams he coached were chosen as a College Swimming Coaches of America All-America team in every semester except one.
Contact Patrick Murphy with comments at prmurphy2@bsu.edu or on Twitter@PMURPH505.
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