Georgia Tech Swimming and Diving Programs and Guides
Collection
Identifier: UP006
This collection brings together the programs and media guides published by Georgia Tech on the swimming and diving program at the Institute.
(1 document case; about 11 volumes)
None.
Permission to publish materials from this collection must be obtained from the Head of Archives and Special Collections.
0.4 Linear Feet
Produced annually by the Sports Information Office, the swimming and diving programs and guides in this collection contain a wide range of information about the swim team at Tech, including the season's rosters, profiles and photos of the coaches and players, statistics, outlines of the team's history, recaps of the previous season, records, and schedules of the upcoming season's meets. Most also include information on the facilities used by the team, especially the new Aquatic Center originally built for the Olympics. Usually, a list of quick facts about Georgia Tech and small articles on Tech's administration also appear. Once Tech fielded a women's team beginning in the 2001-2002 season, the guides include rosters, statistics, profiles, and photographs of the women's team as well. Most of the publications, particularly the later ones, were produced for the media. While the guides from the early 1990s consist of only about 10 pages, the later publications are more substantial.
Within the date range of the Archives' holdings, publications are missing for the 1994-1995, 1995-1996, and 1996-1997 seasons.
Georgia Tech's swim team began in the 1918-1919 season. Several early successes against Southern competition are recorded in the school yearbook, the Blue Print. During the 1920s, there was no on-campus pool, yet the team achieved a good deal of success, unofficially winning 10 straight Southern championships (from 1926 through 1935). Former Tech football star Kenneth Thrash, Sr., coached the team from 1932 to 1935, posting an excellent record of 24-1 during his tenure.
Fred Lanoue began coaching the swim team in 1936 and remained in the position for 27 years, finally resigning after the 1964 season. Also known for his physical training method known as "drownproofing," Lanoue led the swim team to four Southeastern Conference championships in 1942, 1948, 1949, and 1950. Tech finally gained an on-campus pool in 1938, the year that Lanoue became full-time head coach of the team.
Another long-term coach, Herb McAuley, succeeded Lanoue in 1965. McAuley had been a star of the 1942 swim team, and he served as an assistant coach under Lanoue for 17 years before taking over from Lanoue. In his 23 seasons as head coach, McAuley held a record of 169-144-1 and led the team to its first ACC championship meet in 1980. After McAuley's retirement in 1987, the swim program ceased for a year, until Brad Lehman assumed the position for the next three seasons (1988-1989 through 1990-1991).
For the next six seasons, the swim team was coached by Bill Humber, who took the team to a sixth-place finish in the ACC Championships, its highest to that date. Humber was succeeded by Seth Baron in the 1997-1998 season. Baron guided the men's team to a top-five finish at the ACC Championships in five straight seasons, including a second-place finish in 2001-2002, and five consecutive top 35 finishes in the NCAA Tournament. The team also had the use of the new facility of the Aquatic Center, which was built on the Tech campus for the Olympic Games in 1996 and renovated and enclosed in 2003.
The most significant change in the program occurred under Baron in the 2001-2002 season, when women were finally added to the program. The women's team achieved many early successes, including a 33rd-place finish at the NCAA after only four seasons. In 2008-2009, after Stu Wilson had taken over as head coach, the women's team earned its highest finish in the NCAA Tournament in school history. Wilson, who served the team as head coach from 2004-2005 through 2008-2009, also guided the men's team to a fourth-place finish at the ACC Championships in 2006.
In 2009, Courtney Shealy Hart took over as head coach of the men's and women's swim teams. At the time of writing (February 2012), Hart is in her third season as head of the swimming program.
A print copy of this finding aid is available in the Georgia Tech Archives reading room.
This is a collection that has been created by the Georgia Tech Archives. The immediate provenance of the publications is unknown, although they were likely to have been deposited in the Library and Archives by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association's Sports Information Office. Accession number 2012.014.
(1 document case; about 11 volumes)
The programs and guides in this collection have been cataloged and assigned the call number GV837 .G46x. Some of these publications are also available in the Georgia Tech Library, but the Archives has the most complete collection.
Christine de Catanzaro processed these records in February 2012.
Part of the Archives and Special Collections, Library, Georgia Institute of Technology Repository