STANFORD, Calif. – Dan Schemmel has been hired as Stanford's Goldman Family Director of Men's Swimming, as announced Tuesday by Jaquish and Kenninger Director of Athletics Bernard Muir.
"Coach Schemmel is a rising star who has proven himself to be one of the brightest technical minds in the sport," said Muir. "More importantly, though, he has demonstrated that he is truly invested in the development and well-being of his student-athletes and knows how to promote a healthy championship culture of collaboration, respect and accountability."
Schemmel spent the previous three seasons as head coach of both the men's and women's programs at University of Hawai'i. The women's program won the MPSF conference championship in each of those three seasons while the men's team captured its first conference championship since 2006. Under his leadership, Hawai'i produced a combined 57 individual conference champions, 42 school records, 20 conference records and seven All-Americans.
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"I am incredibly humbled and honored for the opportunity to lead the Stanford men's swimming and diving program," said Schemmel, a native of Rockford, Michigan. "Stanford offers the premier experience in scholar-athleticism, combining a world-class education with the best collegiate athletics department in the country. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Bernard Muir and sport administrator Tommy Gray for believing in me and providing me with this opportunity. Within this environment of excellence, we will continue to build this program around a culture of integrity and hard work."
Prior to serving as head coach at Hawai'i, Schemmel spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Wisconsin, where he coached 17 Big Ten conference champions to nine Big Ten conference records. He also spent the 2010-11 season as an assistant coach at Michigan State, his alma mater, and two seasons as a graduate assistant at Arizona (2008-10), where he earned his masters degree in educational psychology.
"I want to acknowledge and thank our men's swimming and diving community for the outpouring of support and constructive input we received throughout the search process," added Muir. "It is clear that Coach Schemmel and the young men on the team will be well-supported as this exciting new chapter of Stanford men's swimming and diving commences."
Schemmel inherits a program which, in 102 seasons, has captured eight national championships and 64 Pac-12 conference championships, including 31 consecutive from 1982-2012. Individual swimmers and divers have combined for 147 national championships and 360 conference championships, while seven former Cardinal were named to the Pac-12 All-Century team in 2016.
Schemmel is the sixth head coach in the history of the program, succeeding Ted Knapp, who spent a combined 39 seasons at Stanford as a student-athlete, assistant coach, associate head coach and the Goldman Family Director of Men's Swimming from 2012-19. In 35 seasons as a coach, Knapp oversaw seven team NCAA championships, 70 individual NCAA championships and 33 conference championships.