Dan Ross to Retire as Head Coach of Purdue Men’s Swimming
Dan Ross has announced his intention to retire as the men’s swimming and diving coach at Purdue, the school announced on Tuesday.
Ross has spent 42 years in West Lafayette, the second-longest tenured coach in school history. He’s been the head coach since 1985-86, a 38-year span. He spent four years as an assistant coach at his alma mater, from which he graduated in 1977.
“It has been the privilege of my life to coach this team,” Ross said in a university statement. “I loved every swimmer that I had the honor of coaching here at Purdue – from Lambert Pool or the original outdoor pool at the CoRec to the last 20 years at an unbelievable facility that is the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center. I told the current team, ‘I love each and every one of you unconditionally and that will never go away.’ This was a difficult decision, but my family helped me confirm what I knew in my heart – that it was time. Purdue Swimming & Diving is in amazing hands because of the people within the program that have made my final season a very special one.”
Ross, who turns 64 in June, will coach the Boilermakers at NCAAs and the CSCAA National Invitational Championships this month. He’ll formally retire at the end of June.
The elder statesman of Big Ten coaching, Ross was the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1988, 1997 and 2009. He helped design the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic Center, which became Purdue’s new home. The Boilermakers have scored at NCAAs each of the last 26 seasons, with top-25 finishes in 14 of the last 17 seasons. That includes 13 NCAA diving national champions under his watch, 34 individual Big Ten titles and 52 All-Americans. Purdue’s men won at least one Big Ten title every year from 2015-21 and claimed multiple titles at Big Tens on nine occasions.
Part of the U.S. coaching staff at the World University Games in 2007, he’s also mentored athletes who have participated in the Olympics, World Championships, Pan American Games, Pan Pacific Games, Southeast Asian Games and Maccabi Games.
“Dan Ross and Purdue Swimming & Diving have become virtually synonymous over the past 40-plus years,” said Mike Bobinski, Purdue Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics. “Dan has dedicated his life’s work to Purdue University and used his platform, first as an assistant coach, then through a remarkable 38-year head coaching tenure, to positively impact the lives of countless student-athletes, coaches and staff members. The connections Dan has with our former swimmers is a testament to his character and influence on their success while at Purdue and beyond. Purdue Athletics is forever grateful to Dan for his unwavering commitment to excellence in every aspect of the student-athlete experience, and we look forward to building from his vision and honoring his legacy in the years ahead. Dan is the epitome of a Purdue Boilermaker, and we wish him and his family all the best as he steps away to begin a well-earned next chapter.”
At Purdue, only men’s tennis coach Larry LeBree (1925-64) had a longer tenure with a team. Ross was the fifth-longest tenured swimming and diving coach in Division I in the 2022-23 season.
Ross was awarded the CSCAA’s Richard E. Steadman Award in 2021, which goes to individuals who spread happiness in the sport. That year, three alumni established the Daniel P. Ross Swimming & Diving Scholarship Endowment for swimmers at the school.
“It is with great joy and excitement for Dan, as he transitions into the next stage of life, but also with great sadness to think of Purdue Swimming & Diving without our pillar of faithfulness and patience,” head diving coach Adam Soldati said. “For the last 18 years, Dan Ross has been a colleague, a mentor, a leader, but most importantly, a faithful brother and dear friend. I was beyond blessed to start my career here as a young, arrogant diving coach with a man like Dan Ross to work alongside and gently show the way. I’m forever grateful for one of the greatest Boilermakers ever!”
“Dan unequivocally has made an impression on all that have shared the pool deck with him – demonstrating that this sport, and life for that matter, is about loving the people you’re with,” Purdue assistant coach Alex Jerden said. “In just the few years I’ve been here, it’s been inspiring to witness the loyalty and enthusiasm Dan has demonstrated for this program, and how he keeps his family at the center of his world. He has shown so many student-athletes – and his fellow coaches – how to make yourself, your school, and your sport better. He’s done so in a way that only Dan Ross could do! It’s been a privilege to work alongside a great mentor, lifelong Boilermaker, and someone that I and many others will miss very much.”
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Dan is more than just the legendary Boilermaker. He has been one of the leaders of our coaching profession for decades. Yet his biggest mark will be felt in the loyalties and outright love that has grown between he and his athletes, and the same with his peers. Thanks Dan for being such a great mentor and friend to the swimming world.
A class act. Met him in 2013 when my son visited Purdue. Spent quality time with him. Wishing Coach a joyful retirement.