ISCA Hall of Fame
'A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.' - Jackie Robinson
The men and women who make up the ISCA Hall of Fame have all shown a tremendous commitment to our sport, excellence in the community, and an ability to bring out the best in others through athletic competition. It is our great honor to recognize their contributions with an induction into the ISCA Hall of Fame.
Class of 2015
Eddie Reese
Frankie Bell
Dick Jochums
Class of 2016
Bill Sweetenham
Bob Gillett
Class of 2017
Mark Schubert
Dudley Duncan
Class of 2018
Kevin Weldon
Bill Rose
Mark Bernardino
Class of 2019
Gregg Troy
Jim Ellis
Class of 2020/2021
Jon Urbanchek
Ernie Maglischo, Ph.D.
Maureen Sheehan
Bob Steele
Steve Bultman
Coach Jack Simon
Bob Steele, Jack Simon, Maureen Sheehan, Steve Bultman, Jon Urbanchek, Ernie Maglischo at the ISCA Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in St. Petersburg, Florida, on March 28, 2022.
More Insights on each individual coach:
Coach Urbanchek was born August 23, 1936. For most of you, that was long before you came into this world, and he's still going stronger than most of us walking pool decks today. That in itself is a Hall of Fame honor!
Coach Urbanchek attended the University of Michigan, where he was both an All American and member of the 1959 and 1961 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championship Team. After college, he had an illustrious career at Anaheim High School (1963-1978) where he coached both swimming and water polo. Not only enough coaching two teams and teaching full time, he also co-founded the Fullerton Aquatic Sports Team (FAST Swimming, Fullerton, California).
In December of 2019, the newly-rebuilt pool at Anaheim High School was officially renamed the John Urbanchek Aquatic Complex.
After leaving Anaheim High School in 1978, he became the Head Coach for Long Beach State, where he coached the 49er's Swim Program for five years. Coach Urbanchek then started in 1982 the Renaissance of the Michigan Men's swimming program. Within four years, he won the Big 10 swim championship and then continued to win another 9 in a row, establishing a Decade of Dominance. Did I mention to say, during that time he also won the NCAA Championship and won a total of thirteen Big 10 Championships during his time. He also was on the staff of seven Olympic Swimming Teams: 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012.Two of them were after he retired.
Upon retiring from Michigan in 2004, he assisted the school club team (Club Wolverine). He was inducted into both the International Swimming Hall of Fame 2008 and the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
So much for retirement. In 2018 he became USA Swimming National Team Technical Advisor, which he held until 2020 and won the USA Swimming Award.
To the Man who will NEVER RETIRE, we take great privilege of honoring you!
Maglischo's incredible coaching career includes 13 national championships at three different institutions and six NCAA Division II Coach of the Year honors.
Dr. Ernie Maglischo has coached swimming for 30 years on the college and age group levels.
Maglischo coached the Golden Grizzlies (then Pioneers) for two years, 1979-81, and led OU to its first national championship and set the groundwork for the successes to follow.
Oakland won its first NCAA Division II title in any sport under Maglischo in 1980, and placed second nationally the following year. Maglischo was also responsible for bringing two men to Rochester, Michigan, to continue the tradition he upheld in the swimming program. He brought in his former swimmer Hovland to be his assistant coach. Plus, he recruited three-time NCAA Division II Swimmer of the Year, Tracy Huth (current Associate AD at OU) to Oakland.
He has authored three books on swimming and co-authored one on nutrition and three others on swimming computer programs.
Coach Maglischo was awarded the title of Master Coach by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America in 1978, and in 1987 he was presented with the Honor Award for outstanding contributions to aquatics by the AAHPERD.
In 1991 the CSCAA awarded Maglischo the National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Award, the highest of its kind in the United States.
The Massillon, Ohio, native was inducted into the Oakland University Hall of Honor in 1995. Prior to the OU Hall of Honor, he was also inducted into the California-Chico Hall, the city of Chico Hall, the Massillon Washington High School Alumni Hall, the State University of New York at New Paltz Hall and the Canton Ohio Swimming Hall of Fame.
Maglischo graduated in 1960 from Ohio University with a degree in physical education and in 1961 with a masters in physical education from Bowling Green. He went on to receive his Ph.D. in physical education from Ohio State in 1974.
Maglischo, after coaching 38 years, retired in 1998 and is returning to the coaching ranks after a five-year retirement. Most recently he guided Arizona State from 1993-98 and Cal State Bakersfield from 1983-93. After leaving Oakland in 1981, he returned for two seasons at Cal State Chico (1981-83).
Head Women’s Coach at Texas A&M University.
In all my years of coaching, I have never come across a Coach, a Parent, or Official that had anything but rave reviews of Steve Bultman as a Coach, a Gentleman, and a true example of what a Swim Coach should strive to be. He is a man of caring, of tremendous knowledge of the sport, and a true innovator in his thinking.
Bultman is a 1970 graduate of LSU where he earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology. He earned his certification in Physical Education from Tulane in 1975, and he received his master’s in Physical Education from the University of West Florida in 1979. An accomplished swimmer himself, Bultman was a LSU swimming letterman (1969, 1970) and won the Louisiana state title in the 50 freestyle while at Jesuit High School in New Orleans, La.
Steve had Club experience at Lynn Park Piranhas in Louisiana. From there, he coached at Nashville Aquatic. After that, he had a 9-year stint at Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club in Florida, where he put 3 swimmers on the 1988 US Olympic Team (Beth Barr, Andrea Hayes, and Daniel Watters). After he finished at GPAC, he moved on to his last Club Coaching job with Dynamo Swim Club in Atlanta, GA and helped turn it into a successful club, as it continues to be today. After Dynamo he moved on to He moved on to college coaching at the University of Georgia where is was an assistant from 1995-1999.
In 1999, he took over the reigns of the Women’s Swimming and Diving program at Texas A&M. When Bultman was hired at Texas A&M on June 2, 1999, the Aggies had never finished higher than third at the conference championships or in the top 10 at the national meet. Under Bultman, the Aggies have finished lower than second at a conference meet just once and strung together an 11-year streak of top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. After four-straight fourth-place finishes at the NCAA Championships from 2013-16, the Aggies tallied their highest NCAA finish ever in 2017 with a third-place effort at the NCAA Championships. A&M put together another great showing at the national meet and eventually took third again in 2018.
Before his arrival, Texas A&M had never won a conference team title, but now owns Big 12 Conference championship trophies from 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012, claimed four consecutive SEC Championships from 2016-2019. He is also a nine-time conference Coach of the Year, and has earned Coach of the Meet honors seven times. Under his direction, Texas A&M produced its first NCAA individual titles with a pair of wins from Julia Wilkinson and Alia Atkinson at the 2010 NCAA Championships. Since Wilkinson and Atkinson’s breakthrough wins, the Aggies have logged eight more individual crowns — seven by swimmers Cammile Adams, Breeja Larson, Paige Miller and Sarah Henry and one by diver Jaele Patrick.
Steve has been a 2-time USA Olympic Coach. In 2008 he was on the coaching staff for the Estonia Olympic Team. In the 2016 Olympics, he served on the Mexico Olympic Staff. He’s also served on USA Coaching staffs, including the 1985 Pan Pacific Games, the 1989 LEN Cup, the 2001, 2009 and 2015 World Univeristy Games and the 2013 World Championships.
Steve is one of the great influencers in USA Swimming, and we are excited to have him as an inductee in the class of 2021 ISCA Hall of Fame.
Jack Simon spent five decades as a head coach in the USA and multiple other countries including Mexico, Puerto Rico, China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.
- Coach Jack Simon served as a Head Coach for 46 years from 1959-2005.
He has had the singular distinction of having a total of 75 of his athletes achieving Top 25 World Rankings, breaking three world records, and competed in numerous Olympic Games.
Jack placed two different teams to Top 3 in the U.S. National Championships, earned three U.S. Junior National team titles, and won numerous U.S. National Championships at the senior, junior, and age group levels.
He has served three terms on the Board of Directors of USA Swimming, led the American Swimming Coaches Association as President and Vice President, and remains a Director of the Swim America program. Coach Simon has served on every major USA Swimming Committee.
Jack has authored more than 20 articles in technical publications. Most recently presented at the first FINA World Coaches Clinic in Singapore (2009).
Prior to his career as a coach, Simon served in the United States Marine Corps from 1957-1960. Coach Simon has worked as a consultant to the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Mexico and worked in more than 20 nations as a clinician.
Top Swimmers
- Paul Hartloff – 1976 Olympic Team
- Bruce Stahl – World Record holder in the 50 free in 1980
- Anne Tweedy – National Champion 1978-1979 and American Record holder
- Patty Gavin – 1982-1983 National Champion
- Libby Kinkead – 1981-1983 National Champion
- Joe Hudepohl – 1992 & 1996 Olympic Team
Bob had more than a 56-year coaching tenure, starting as a High School and Club Coach in Peoria, Illinois, and then in Carbondale, Illinois. He coached at Southern Illinois University, but he also received his undergraduate degree, and Master's degrees from the College of Education and Human Services from SIU.
- SIU recognized him as Distinguished Alumni for Career Achievements in 2016.
Bob's coaching career:
- 1959 - 1962 - Carbondale Sharks – SIU Grad Assistant
- 1963 - 1966 - Richwoods HS – Peoria Swim Club
- 1967 - 1970 - Deerfield HS – Deerfield Swim Club
- 1971 - 1973 - Swim Coach, Northwestern University
- 1974 - 1984 - Head Swim Coach, Southern Illinois University
- 1985 - 1987 - Orlando International Aquatic Center
- 1987 - 1995 - Director of Athlete/Coach Development, United States Swimming
- 1998 - 2004 - Head Swim Coach, California State University-Bakersfield
- 2005 - 2016 - Master Coach/Consultant - USA Swimming
Bob has coached at all levels with 17 swimmers World Ranked in 37 events, two American Record Holders, five NCAA II Team Championships, seven NCAA II Record Holders, 9 NCAA I Top 20 finishes and six National Independent Championship teams.
As a member of the USA Swimming Master Coach / Consulting Program, he conducted 140 USA-S Team Excellence Camps for teams with a world ranked underclass swimmer and fine coaching staff, along with more than 50 of his Winning Spirit Racing Camps. He has presented to more than 30,000 coaches at ISCA, ASCA, FINA, LSCs, Canada and H.S. Coaches Associations and 31 countries.
Presently Bob serves as a mentor for CSCAA and ASCA and conducts clinics and talks for teams.
The CSCAA selected him as one of the Top 100 Coaches in the last 100 years.
Bob's induction into the ISCA Hall of Fame happened on March 28, 2022.
Besides his book, Games, Gimmicks, Challenges for Swimming Coaches, he also was known as the fun coach who's focus was distracted pain.
Plus, he has painted more than 100 acrylic paintings.
Feel free to check out his open course:
"Dudley was such an influential coach for me because he really instilled the importance of technique, and developing the fundamentals of swimming. To this day, I use many of the drills I did with him for my own young swimmers. He also established the importance of overall fitness; he would lead us on runs and our dryland workouts, and more often than not, put us young swimmers to shame. Dudley was also incredibly good at establishing a bond between our swimmers and it was the first time I really understood what it meant to be a part of a team. He would organize activities for our senior group outside of the pool, and those were crucial to our team becoming incredibly close, and to this day, those are some of the best memories I have from my swimming career." - Rada Owen
"I met Mark Schubert for the first time when he became the Women's Head Coach at the University of Texas, where I was swimming. I had heard rumors about how he was a notoriously tough, distance coach. I thought, so why is he coming to one of the best sprint programs in the country. I am surely going to be in trouble. I soon found out that he wasn't just a great distance coach, he could actually coach sprinters as well! He encouraged me to keep a log book while I was swimming and write comments about my training/workouts. In doing this, it made me learn so much more about who I was and what I felt I needed as a sprinter. I truly became a student of the sport. Mark asked if I would ever consider coaching as a profession and the "bug" was placed. From that moment on, (and for almost 30 years now) that's what I've done. Mark has had such a great influence on me both as a swimmer and now as a coach, I truly owe a lot of thanks to him. I am so very proud to call him a close friend." - Leigh Ann Fetter-Witt
Legendary swimming coach Bob Gillett, passed away at his home in Arizona in February 2017. Coach Gillett was the ultimate innovator of dolphin kicking underwater on your side like a fish, a technique used by Olympic Champion, Misty Hyman.
Bob was more than just an innovator poolside, he had impact on our sport as a whole. More importantly, he was just a great guy. I will miss our talks. Thanks for your friendship and insights. Rest In Peace - Rich Rogers
It was such a blessing to have trained along side possibly one of the best coaches in the U.S. If it wasn't for him and his coaching skills I would never have made it as far as I did in the swimming world. RIP coach Gillett you will be missed.?
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One of the all-time greats and a very nice person who helped me tremendously. If you learned how to dolphin kick from me you learned it from him. - John Bradley
The world lost a great man. Bob Gillett was my swim coach through the most formative years of my athletic career. He was often cantankerous and misunderstood by some, but to those who knew him, he was an amazing and authentic person. He was a master coach, on the cutting edge of his sport. In the pool, and beyond, he was a visionary, a leader, an entrepreneur, an inventor, a father, a husband, and a mentor to many, many young athletes. He was one of the most influential people in my life. I'll never forget him and the the many lessons he taught me. His passion, his focus, his drive, and his long term vision have all impacted the person I am today. My heart and my thoughts are with his family; wife Kathy, and children Cheryl and Donny. He will be greatly missed by many, especially the thousands of young swimmers who got the privilege to suffer in his pool. You will always be in my heart and in my head pushing me to be better. Rest In peace, Coach. - Dan Querciagrossa
News from AZ Sports in Feb 2017 upon Coach's passing
Bob Gillett, best known for coaching 2000 Olympic swimming gold medalist Misty Hyman, died Saturday at his Arizona home.
Gillett was inducted into the International Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame last year for a 50-year career that included working with swimmers who won 20 national and 50 junior national championships.
Gillett coached the Arizona Desert Fox swim team from 1971-2006, which operated out of his Arizona Sports Ranch after 1982. He also was CEO/coach of the Golden West Swim Club from 2006-11.
Hyman was coached by Gillett through 1997 when she graduated from Phoenix Shadow Mountain High School and moved on to college at Stanford. Gillett helped Hyman develop her underwater butterfly kick and extended underwater breakout that almost took her to the 1996 Olympics when she was 17. She made it to the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she upset heavily favored Australian Susie O'Neill to win the 200-meter butterfly. Hyman now is an Arizona State assistant coach.
Cindy Tran, who was coached by Gillett, broke Natalie Coughlin’s national 15-16 age group 100-yard backstroke record. In 2010, Tran broke the national high school record in the 100 back, becoming the first prep swimmer to break 52 seconds.
"When you think of the true innovators in the sport of swimming, Bob Gillett immediately comes to mind," said Chuck Wielgus, USA Swimming executive director. "He was constantly looking forward and creating new ways to help his swimmers improve. He was also always willing to share his knowledge with other coaches to help them work with their swimmers better. He will be missed by all in the swimming community.
"I still call Misty Hyman's incredible gold medal in Sydney one of the Olympics' most memorable moments. How Bob and Misty worked together to accomplish what most people thought couldn't happen was simply amazing."
Bill has been the National Team and Olympic Coach for three countries, Australia, Hong Kong, and Great Britain. In Great Britain he was the guiding force in returning that country to an international power in swimming. He returned to Australia and in 2021 he got the highest honor there from the NGB.
Called the most innovative and challenging coach ever known by Dick Hannula. Hannula coached with Bill in both Australia and Hong Kong at their respective Institutes of Sports. I have found that his observations and comments are a great source for all coaches.
Coach Jim Ellis is coach of the Salvation Army Kroc Aquatics (SAKA), one of Philadelphia's premiere swimming programs. He is most notable as the subject of the 2007 feature movie, Pride , and for his organization of the PDR swim team in 1971--the first African American swim team.
Among Coach Ellis’s athletes was Michael Norment, the first black swimmer on the U.S. National Team. Coach Ellis's programs have also sent athletes to every Olympic Trials since 1992.
In May 2007, Coach Ellis received the President's Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame (ISHOF). Over a hundred of his swimmers have attended college on swimming scholarships.
Coach Gregg Troy has coached sixty-eight Olympians, including multiple world champions and world record holders. He is best known as the Head Coach of the University of Florida Men's Swimming & Diving from 1999-2018, coaching notable athletes such as Ryan Lochte and Caeleb Dressel. Prior to taking over the UF program, Troy was the head coach of The Bolles School in Jacksonville, FL, where he won fifteen boys’ state championships and eleven girls’ state championships.
Coach Troy was the Men’s Head Coach for the 2012 Olympic Games. He also served as the Women's Assistant Coach for the 1996 Olympics, Men’s Head Coach for the 1999 Pan-Am Games, and Men’s Assistant Head Coach for the 2008 Olympics.
Weldon has held the position of Head Coach for the Dayton Raiders in Dayton, Ohio, for almost 3 decades. He has coached numerous individual Junior & Senior National Champions, several National Age Group Champions and Record Holders, an American Record Holder, two Olympic Trial Finalists, and a number of Ohio High School Champions and Record Holders. Weldon has also been honored 10 times as the Ohio Senior Coach of the year and was the 2013 NCSA Junior National Coach of the Year.
Retired in 2018 as Head Coach of Mission Viejo Nadadores, Coach Rose was inducted to the ISCA Hall of Fame at the 9th annual coaches clinic. Rose coached multiple Olympic teams and positively influenced thousands of swimmers throughout his career.
During his 35-year tenure as head coach, Mark Bernardino led the University of Virginia to 27 ACC Championships, the most of any ACC swimming coach. Bernardino has coached 13 student-athletes to the Olympic level, including 4 Gold medalists. He has also coached athletes who competed in the World University Games, the Pan American Games, the Pan Pacific Games and the World Swimming Championships. Bernardino served as President of the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) from 2009-11 and then he moved to be the Associate Head Coach at the University of South Carolina.