Arizona Names Ben Loorz Head Coach; Looking to Revitalize Program

Photo Courtesy: University of Arizona

Arizona Names Ben Loorz Head Coach

Arizona on Wednesday hired Ben Loorz to fill its vacancy as the head coach of its swimming and diving program.

Loorz arrives in Tucson after nearly a decade at UNLV. He led the Rebels to a WAC conference title on the men’s side last year, the team’s fourth consecutive conference title and setting a record for scoring at the conference meet. Loorz led UNLV to five conference titles, in the WAC and Mountain West, and five runner-up results. He will oversee Arizona’s transition to the Big 12 conference.

“I want to thank the search committee, Desireé Reed-Francois, University leadership and the entire Arizona Athletics Department for the opportunity to continue the storied legacy of this program while growing and developing our student-athletes to become champions,” Loorz said in a university statement. “The University of Arizona is a special place, and my family and I can’t wait to get to campus and begin this exciting journey together.”

In Loorz’s eight seasons, UNLV swimmers set 40 school records and won 90 conference titles (relay and individual). Loorz trained Tokyo Olympians Zsuzsanna Jakabos, Vuk Celic and Kasia Wasick.

“We sought to hire a head coach with a successful record of coaching, recruiting and holistically developing student-athletes at the highest of levels,” director of athletics Desiree Reed-Francois said. “Coach Loorz is a proven leader who is nationally recognized in the swimming and diving community with a championship vision for our program. He is a tireless recruiter with an exceptional history of developing championship culture and will grow upon the legacy of the program as we enter the Big 12 Conference. We are proud to welcome Coach Loorz, his wife Jenn, and their family to the University of Arizona.”

A native of California, Loorz swam at American River College. He graduated from USC in 1999 and earned a master’s degree from Utah in 2008. He began coaching at Utah as a graduate assistant from 2005-07, helping the program win a pair of Mountain West titles. He joined UNLV as an assistant from 2007-10, fueling three team conference titles. His first head coaching experience came over six seasons at Cal State East Bay in Division II.

Loorz replaces Augie Busch, who was let go after the season.

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