Bill Wadley is no longer the executive director of the American Swimming Coaches Association, sources have confirmed to Swimming World. The ASCA had a vote of ‘no confidence’ in Wadley from which he resigned.
“The hard working staff at ASCA is doing a phenomenal job,” ASCA Board Chair Mike Koleber told Swimming World. “They are committed to the core. The production and delivery of valuable and relevant coaching resources have never been better. We’re plowing forward for the Coaches of ASCA and we continue to be optimistic for the future.”
Bill Wadley had retired as head coach at Ohio State in March 2017 where he coached 16 Olympians, 30 Big Ten Champions, and was named 2010 Big Ten Coach of the Year. He was named executive director of ASCA in October 2020, taking over for Steve Roush, who held the title for less than a year, and is now the project manager for the 65-year-old organization. Roush was hired at ASCA in July 2019, succeeding John Leonard who had held the position for 35 years.
“Bill is a friend and someone I am very fond of,” ASCA Executive Committee member Mark Schubert told Swimming World. “He denies all insinuations. My vote was for the future and reputation of ASCA. A sad day in my opinion.”
In the pool, 19 of Bill Wadley’s swimmers have been named All-Americans and 63 have earned honorable mention All-America status. In 2010, while hosting the Big Ten Championships, his team brought home the first conference title since 1956 and the 13th in program history. Under his tutelage, he had a swimmer compete at seven consecutive Summer Olympic Games.
Nine 911 calls have been made in the past 17 months to Bill Wadley’s Columbus, Ohio home and several of the calls allege domestic violence, according to Columbus Police reports obtained by SwimSwam. In January of 2020, a call from the house had a female caller accusing a man of putting his hands on her, choking her, and pulling her hair, to which another call was placed in June 2020 with a woman accusing a man of pushing her down the stairs.
In a November 2020 call, a woman accused her live-in boyfriend “Bill” of putting his hands on her, and the next day she accused live-in boyfriend “Bill Ladley” of hitting her, according to the transcripts.
Wadley told Swimming World, “The incidents surrounding recent activities at my Columbus property overshadow my ability to lead ASCA. I agreed with the ASCA BOD and elected to resign, opening the door for new leadership that can devote more time to the organization than I can currently devote at this time”.
Swimming World will continue to update this story as it develops.