WESTON, Mass. – The Regis College athletics department is proud to announce the hiring of James Sweeney as its Aquatics Director and Head Coach of the Men's and Women's Swimming & Diving teams. Coach Sweeney brings nearly 20 years of professional experience in swimming and aquatic center work to the Pride.

He has been an Olympic Trial Qualifier, an NCAA Finalist, and a College, YMCA and USS coach, where he has enjoyed tremendous success at all levels, including as the Head Men's and Women's Swim Coach at the University of Miami (FL). Most recently, he served as Aquatics Director and Head Swim Coach for the Gulliver Schools in Miami, FL.

"We are very fortunate to have an accomplished and experienced professional like Coach Sweeney joining our staff," said Assistant Athletic Director Mark Clemente. "Having been around so many different levels of competitive swimming offers the Regis program a unique leader that is able to both develop a less experienced student-athlete, in addition to recruiting the more polished swimmer."

"Coach Sweeney can relate to each student-athlete and will create the positive coaching environment that the program needs," added Clemente.

While at the University of Miami, his teams experienced great success in the pool and in the classroom. He coached four Olympians including a gold medal and bronze medal winners. The Hurricanes won two National Championships during his tenure, and had eight NCAA All-Americans. His teams also experienced success in the classroom as both of his team experienced record years in terms of GPA.

At Indiana University, he was a 4-time NCAA All-American, and a three-time Big Ten Champion. He is the former school record holder for the 1000 free, 1650 free, and 800 free relay, and had broken pool records at Indiana University, the University of Michigan, and at the University of Illinois.

"I am extremely excited to be the next Aquatics Director and Head Swim Coach and am really looking forward to being a part of the Regis community and to recruit the best student-athletes to Regis," stated Sweeney. "It is a very exciting time to be here with the tremendous direction the school and the athletic department is moving towards and I look forward to building a large swimming and diving program that will compete for conference championships and having NCAA qualifiers."

Regis College begins its 2012-2013 season on October 19th and 20th as the Pride participate in the Catholic College Invitational held on the campus of Boston College.