Matt Bowe Hired as Michigan Head Swimming Coach

Photo Courtesy: Cal Athletics

Matt Bowe has been named the men’s and women’s head swimming and diving coach at the University of Michigan, taking over for Mike Bottom, who recently announced his retirement.

“Matt Bowe is an exceptional coach and we are thrilled to welcome him and his family to U-M to lead our men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs,” said Michigan Athletic Direcrot Warde Manuel. “Not only familiar with the Big Ten and surrounding landscapes, Matt has demonstrated success at the highest levels of Olympic and NCAA Championship competition. We look forward to supporting Matt as he leads our storied program into the future.”

“I’m excited and honored to join the University of Michigan as head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs,” Matt Bowe said. “Michigan was the first place I moved to in the U.S. in 2013. Since then, it has been a dream of mine to lead the University of Michigan team and continue the traditions of success at the Big Ten, NCAA and Olympic level.

“I want to thank athletic director Warde Manuel and executive senior associate athletic director Rob Rademacher for putting their trust in me to lead the University of Michigan Swimming and Diving program. I’m looking forward to working with an elite staff who will help our student-athletes achieve their goals both academically and athletically. I can’t wait to get started! Go Blue!”

Bowe comes to Ann Arbor after spending the 2022-23 season at Cal as the associate head coach for the men’s and women’s programs, serving as recruiting coordinator for the men’s program. The men’s squad repeated as national champions, scoring 482 points to take home the title, and finished second at the Pac-12 Championships.

He coached predominantly the sprint and mid-distance groups in Berkeley, helping Destin Lasco to an NCAA title and American record in the 200-yard individual medley. He coached Ryan Murphy to five short course gold medals and one relay world record at the 2022 World Short Course Championships.

All told during his time out west, he helped the Golden Bears to one NCAA team title, one NCAA individual title, six school records, 11 Pac-12 individual titles, 12 NCAA All-Americans to 47 honors and a pair of student-athletes to Academic All-America laurels.

Prior to his time at Cal, Matt Bowe spent five seasons at Ohio State (2017-18 to 2021-22), helping both the men’s and women’s programs to five combined top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Bowe was the senior associate head coach for men’s swimming during his final season in Columbus, helping the Buckeyes to a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships — their highest finish since 1965. He coached Hunter Armstrong to a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and to a world record in the 50-meter backstroke.

He served one season at Indiana as an assistant coach (2016-17), helping the men’s team win the 2017 Big Ten Championship and finish seventh at the NCAA Championships. Bowe also led a training squad that consisted of six All-Americans and six team-record holders, while helping Olympic gold medalists Lilly King, Cody Miller and Blake Pieroni in their preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games.

Before joining the Big Ten, Matt Bowe spent three seasons at Washtenaw County neighbor Eastern Michigan (2013-16). He helped the men’s team to back-to-back Mid-American Conference titles (2015, 2016) and the women to a pair of runner-up finishes over the same two seasons.

Bowe entered the coaching ranks at his alma mater, Loughborough University (U.K.), where he coached U.S. Open 200-meter butterfly champion Tilly Gray. He also served as an assistant coach at the Great Britain National Centre in Loughborough from 2009-2012, where he coached back-to-back world champion and 50-meter back world-record holder, Liam Tancock, as well as two-time world silver medalist in the 100-meter freestyle, Francesca Halsall.

Hailing from Silecroft in Cumbria, U.K., Matt Bowe had a successful swimming career. As a member of Team Great Britain from 2003-2009, Bowe was the 2006 British champion in the 100-meter butterfly. Also in 2006, he claimed podium finishes as a part of the 4×100-meter medley relay team, earning a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and a bronze medal at the European Championships in Budapest. Bowe also was a finalist in the 100-meter butterfly at the World University Games in Belgrade (2009) and Bangkok (2007), while swimming as a finalist in the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne.

Matt Bowe graduated from Loughborough University in 2009 with a BSc First Class Honours in sports science and management and received his master’s degree in sport management from Eastern Michigan.

His wife, Lila, and their three daughters, Indie, Maïla and Billie will be relocating to Ann Arbor.

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