IUPUI Athletic Director Dr. Roderick Perry has announced the hiring of Damion Dennis as the new IUPUI Swimming and Diving Head Coach. Dennis joins the Jaguars from West Virginia where he served as Associate Head Coach for the Mountaineers.
“I am humbled and honored to be able to lead this program,” said Dennis. “I would like to thank Dr. Perry, [Senior Associate AD/External Affairs] John Rasmussen and [Senior Associate AD/Internal Operations/SWA] Jaunelle White for believing in me and for giving me this amazing opportunity.”
Dennis had been at West Virginia since 2007 and during his time with the Mountaineers, he assisted 17 swimmers to the NCAA Championships and nearly every top time in the sprint events at West Virginia have been set during his tenure. Dennis boasts a resume featuring 17 All-Americans, 32 NCAA Championships qualifiers, 40 conference champions, 15 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers and one World Championships qualifier.
“I’m looking forward to working with the team and alumni to continue to build this program,” said Dennis. “As we begin this journey, we are going to work hard and compete in the classroom, pool and in recruiting as well as having a good time along the way. My family and I are excited to get to Indy and it is an exciting time to be a Jag.”
“We are very pleased to welcome Damion to the IUPUI athletic department,” said Athletic Director Roderick Perry. “It was important to us to find a candidate that will continue the strong success that our swimming and diving program has had and find ways to elevate the program to the next step. We believe that Damion’s experience will do just that and cannot wait for him to get on campus and get to work.”
Before West Virginia, Dennis served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of California-San Diego and spent three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Princeton.
Dennis earned his master’s degree in kinesiology/exercise physiology in 2002 from the University of Michigan while serving as a graduate assistant for the Wolverines program.
Dennis swam at Western Illinois in his undergraduate career, earning a degree in exercise science/biomechanics in 2000, while compiling an impressive career in the pool. Dennis was an eight-time all-conference swimmer for the Leathernecks and was a part of a six-time conference championship program, swimming the 100 back, 200 back, 100 fly, 1,650 free 400 individual medley and diving two season.
Dennis and his wife, Hillary, have two sons, Jameson and Hudson.
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Good luck. You will be missed at WVU