Matt Bos Stepping Down as IUPUI Swimming Coach

Heads up! This article was imported from a previous version of The Campus Citizen. If you notice any issues, please let us know.

For the third time in school history, IUPUI will be looking for a new men’s and women’s head swimming coach. This comes after Matt Bos, who’s been head coach the last eight years, announced his resignation due to family relocation, which is effective May 10.

Hired on May 24, 2011, Coach Bos took over a program that in back-to-back years had finished last and second to last in the Summit League standings, respectively. Over the course of his eight years, he turned IUPUI into a perennial contender in both the Summit League and the Horizon League.

Under Coach Bos, the men’s team finished in second place four times and third once. The women’s team finished in second place and third place twice each.

His first season in 2011-2012 showed instant progress as both the men’s and women’s teams finished two spots higher than the year prior, placing fourth out of six teams.

During the 2013 campaign, Coach Bos and the swimming program had their breakout year. He was named the 2013 Summit League Women’s Coach of the Year for his work helping 14 swimmers reach all-conference honors.

The highlights of the year came when Jenny Oleksiak won the individual title for the 200 breaststroke, marking IUPUI’s first individual conference swimming champion since 2005, and the teams setting a combined 25 new records for the school during the meet. Out of the school’s 42 swimming records, 40 of them have come under Matt’s leadership.

Current IUPUI swimmer Samantha Roll, a junior, had this to say in an email about her coach.

“On the pool deck, Matt's ability to know when something is off with the team's morale or chemistry is [a] way he greatly impacts the success of the program. Swimming is a very individual sport - once you dive in the water, it's up to you to finish the race. But your individual performance greatly impacts the success of the team as a whole, which means having support from your teammates is crucial. Matt Bos constantly stressed the importance of the TEAM in swimming - he was never afraid to call us out when that support system wasn't there, but also never hesitated to praise us when he felt we had performed well as a team.”

In all, Coach Bos coached 125 all-league performers and 24 student-athletes named to All-Academic teams, both in the Summit and Horizon League, at IUPUI.

His success doesn’t stop in the pool, however, with his most important work happening outside the IU Natatorium. He impacted his players in the classroom and the community surrounding IUPUI.

“One of Matt's - and the swimming program's - main focuses is on academics. Matt Bos stresses the importance of emphasizing the "student" in "student-athlete,” Roll said. “This, in my opinion, is Matt's most impactful strategy on his swimmers' success.

IUPUI’s Athletic Director, Dr. Roderick Perry, listed some of Matt’s qualities that contributed to his success, “Commitment to his student-athletes - he wanted to make sure they had a first-class experience from an educational and an athletic perspective.”

Dr. Perry continued, “He had a really good quality of developing his student-athletes. He was committed to his athletes being involved in the community, on campus and their focus on their academics.”

Samantha highlights the community work that Coach Bos promoted.

Over the years, we have been given countless opportunities to volunteer at meets both big and small that are hosted at the IU Natatorium. I personally have helped time and sell merchandise at multiple meets held at the Nat, including the 2017 Men's NCAA DI Swimming Championship, and most recently Paralympics Pro-Series Meet.”

She continues on Coach Bos’ impact. “Matt Bos emphasizes representing IUPUI as best we can, and one of the easiest ways for us to do that as a swim team is to help events at the Nat run as smoothly as possible.”

Coach Bos’ biggest impact was on his student-athletes academics. In his eight seasons, he coached nine IUPUI Top 100 Students. Samantha became the ninth player when she won the honor this year.

“I personally owe many of my successes academically to Matt Bos - including being named among IUPUI's Top 100 students. Without his support I would never have been able to accomplish that. I don't know if I could have found the same level of understanding and support of athletes beyond their athletic performance at any other university. This program will greatly miss Matt Bos, and so will I.”

Dr. Perry addressed the legacy Matt leaves. “He laid the foundation for success, and the foundation is laid for the next coach to build upon that level of success.”

From here, IUPUI will find a new coach. When asked about the coaching search, Dr. Perry said he has tasked Senior Associate Athletic Director John Rasmussen to lead the search. They have received multiple national inquiries about the vacancy and are currently doing a national search.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Campus Citizen, IUPUI