Arizona State Lets Swim Coach Go

Arizona State University has fired head swimming coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker. That’s what happens when a coach doesn’t produce a winning team.

Bad record

Tierney-Walker was head coach of the university’s swim team for six seasons and during that time, ASU women finished no higher than sixth place in the Pac-12 and the men no better than fifth place.
They didn’t do any better at the NCAA Championships, either. The women were 12th at NCAA Championships in 2012, 23rd in 2013, 41st in 2014 and most recently 34th. The men were 18th at nationals in 2013 then 23rd in 2014 and did not place this season.
Associate head coach Greg Earhart was also part of the decision and was placed on administrative leave after just one season. It appears ASU wants to start fresh with a brand new coaching staff.

No Hard Feelings

Although Tierney-Walker still had another year remaining on her contract, ASU Vice President for Athletics Ray Anderson made the call to relieve her of her duties before her contract was up.
She shouldn’t feel too bad, though—it was nothing personal. Anderson wants to win and win big in every sport ASU is a part of. He recently fired men’s basketball coach Herb Sendek for not producing a winning team, and made other performance-based changes in wrestling and baseball.
“Our athletics department, university and community expect our swimming program to compete for individual, conference and national titles, and produce All-Americans and Olympians,” Anderson said in a statement. “We will conduct a national search for a new head coach that is the best fit for our program, university, and community.”
Ouch.

Life Goes On

At least she’ll have plenty of free time to hit the pool while she looks for a new job. And while she’s swimming those laps, we recommend listening to some music, courtesy of Underwater Audio’s waterproof iPod because music makes everything better. See? There’s a silver lining to everything!
What do you think about the news of Coach Dorsey Tierney-Walker getting fired? Share in the comments below!