Brad Shively enters his 12th season as the head swimming and diving coach at Washington University in St. Louis, and his 16th year with the Washington University swimming and diving program. With Shively at the helm, the WUSTL programs have established themselves as two of the best in the nation.
Last season, Shively guided the Washington University men's swimming and diving team to a 16th place finish at the NCAA Division III Championships, while the women's squad placed 24th. Eight student-athletes combined to garner 15 All-America accolades at the 2011 Championship meet.
The 2005-06 season stands as one of the finest during Shively's tenure, as he led the Red and Green to their top finishes in program history. The women placed fifth at NCAAs, while the men took sixth. Seniors Michael Slavik and Eric Triebe won the first (50 free) and second (200 free) individual national titles in WU swimming and diving history to lead the men. Senior Jenny Scott, a 25-time All-American, paced the women with seven All-America citations of her own.
The 2008-09 season stood out as another remarkable chapter in the history of the Washington University swimming program. Beyer captured the third individual national title in school history and the Washington U. men's team came in seventh overall at the NCAA Championships. The women's team earned a 14th place finish and the squads combined to account for 35 All-America citations at the NCAA meet.
In 2009-10, the Washington U. men's swimming and diving team placed 10th at the NCAA Division III Championships, securing its second-straight top-10 finish. Additionally, Alex Beyer repeated as the 400-IM national champion, becoming the first student-athlete in program history to capture two individual national championships. Beyer graduated as the NCAA Division III record holder in the 400-IM (3:45.51).
It was in 2002-03, that the impact of Shively began to take shape, as the Bears completed their best season in school history. The men's and women's teams placed 10th at the NCAA Championships, both of which were their highest in school history. Both squads also posted their best conference finishes, placing second at the UAA Championships. For its efforts, WU garnered six of the eight UAA postseason awards--including Shively's Coaching Staff of the Year awards for both men and women.
Shively continued that trend in 2003-04. The women's squad again placed second at the conference meet, while the men took third. At the NCAA Championships, the men placed 10th and the women took 12th. The 2004-05 season marked another banner year. The women's team placed seventh at the NCAA Championships, the best finish in program history to date. Washington U.'s men also notched their highest NCAA finish, placing eighth.
In his 11 years at the helm, Shively has coached 55 Bears to 372 All-America citations, including a record 53 in 2006.
Shively's impact extends far beyond the pool as both the Washington U. men's and women's swimming teams routinely receive national recognition for their success in the classroom. The WU men posted the highest grade point average in the nation among all three NCAA Divisions in Fall 2008, with the women's team boasting the top team GPA in Division III in the fall of 2010. Both squads received the College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Team Scholar All-America honors in 2009 and 2010.
Shively came to Washington University from Kalamazoo College (Mich.), where he served as the assistant men's and women's swimming and diving coach from 1991-97. At Kalamazoo, Shively helped coach the Hornets' men's team to four top-10 finishes at the NCAA Division III National Championships. He also helped produce 34 All-Americans and 12 Academic All-Americans.
A 1989 graduate of Kalamazoo, Shively was a two-time All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association swimmer for the Hornets and a team captain his senior season. Shively is also a head counselor with several nationally prominent swimming camps that have produced numerous olympians. He has worked at the 1998 Stanford University and the 1999-2008 University of Michigan swimming camps.