Ray Anderson has proven to be a man of his word after taking over as Vice President for University Athletics/Athletics Director at Arizona State University.
Changes within the athletic landscape were inevitable and just two weeks after officially introducing Bobby Hurley’s as the new men’s basketball coach, Anderson tabbed Bob Bowman as the new men’s and women’s Sun Devil swim coach.
One would be hard-pressed to find a more decorated resume than Bowman’s: a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year who also mentored 18-time Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps who will come to Tempe to train.
“We put no limitations on our aspirations when we’re out seeking the best available to be head coaches for our student-athletes,” Anderson said Friday afternoon in Tempe.
Bowman’s credentials more than speak for themselves. He was the U.S. men’s head coach at the 2007, 2009 and 2013 FINA World Championships and was an assistant at the 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2011 World Championships. Bowman’s swimmers have set 43 world records and more than 50 American records under his guidance.
“I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my coaching,” the former Michigan head coach explained. “I wanted to be in a program where we could build something…this ticked all the boxes. It had facilities. It had good weather. You don’t know how excited I am to not mention the word ‘snow’ in recruiting. Everything that I would want in a school is here.”
Bowman becomes the third head coach in Sun Devil history to direct both the men and women’s swimming teams: the sixth head coach of the men’s program and the seventh of the women’s.
