Head Men’s Coach Nort Thornton, Athletic Director Sandy Barbour Send Joint-Statement to California Swimming Community Clarifying Thornton’s Status

BERKELEY, California, August 3. IT looks like the confusion recently surrounding the University of California men's swimming program regarding the status of Nort Thornton as the head coach of the team has come to an end.

Today, Thornton and Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour sent a joint-statement to members of the California swimming community. Swimming World Magazine has obtained a copy of this note. We are printing it in its entirety to help clear the air on what must have been a difficult period of time for those involved.

In a nutshell, there was a serious bit of miscommunication during a meeting between Thornton and Barbour. At that meeting, the two discussed Thornton's future with the team as well as the direction Barbour wished to take with the coaching staff after Mike Bottom left to take over the helm of The Race Club.

The confusion came about when Thornton felt that he had been dismissed and sent an e-mail out to various people involved in the Cal swimming community as reported here. However, the athletic department stands behind its original release announcing that Thornton had retired and would continue on with the program in some capacity.

We had heard from several people on deck at the USA Swimming National Championships that the chancellor had intervened to have Thornton reinstated, as we originally reported here. That information has since proven to be false. However, a former vice-chancellor did step in to help resolve these issues.

Here is the complete letter from Thornton and Barbour:

August 3, 2007

To the Cal Men's Swimming Family:

Given the events of the past two weeks, we believe that it is important to for us to communicate jointly and directly to the extended Cal Men's Swimming family — in order for everyone to move forward in the same direction and with the same goal: continued pursuit of world-class excellence for our program, student athletes, and community!

With that goal in mind, we have agreed that the time is right to begin a search for a new head men's swimming coach. That national search will begin immediately, and will be in full gear this week at the U.S.A. Nationals in Indianapolis, where Cal will be represented by Nort Thornton, Teri McKeever and Sandy Barbour. Unanticipated changes in the coaching staff prompted us to reevaluate our plans for 2007-08 and to arrive at this decision.

We would like to underscore a few important points:

• Having retired in June, Nort Thornton will serve as our men's "Swimming Coach Emeritus" to assist with the transition period, while the new head coach becomes established in this new position.

• We will conduct this search expeditiously and effectively, and it will result in hiring a successful individual who is capable of carrying on the tradition of achievement, integrity, and character established under — and exemplified by — Nort's leadership. We are dedicated to a search that will yield a coach capable and motivated to lead the Cal men's program in its continued pursuit of world-class excellence.

• The priority is our student athletes and their ability to have access to the highest quality experience, enabling them to achieve both athletic and academic success.

• Nort will remain involved in the program at Cal for the 2007-08 season – and as long as he wishes. Although there are NCAA coaching-limitation issues that need to be properly observed, the deck is where Nort wants to be, and we will work together diligently to make that happen. In addition, the Athletic Department has asked Nort to take on the role of Director of Aquatics, with responsibilities related to coaching development and education, Cal's High Performance Initiative, to serve as an ambassador for our aquatics sports, among other possibilities. We will work together to formalize the expectations of this new role, but we are both excited about its possibilities.

We would like to emphasize that our shared, unwavering priority, and abiding commitment is to our student athletes and to their pursuit of world-class achievements — in the pool and far beyond. We are resolved that as a family we will move forward in concert to successfully recruit and appoint a new head coach who embodies all that we know is exceptional about the Berkeley campus and the Cal Men's Swimming program. Together the two of us, in consultation with others, will move through these next few weeks with a shared goal: to bring to Cal an exceptional individual of high character, coaching and educational talent. Ultimately, our student athletes will benefit greatly from the combination of what our history and legacy have to offer them as well as what the future will bring.

We know that these next few weeks will be an anxious time for all involved in the program, and we invite you to contact either of us should you have questions, comments, or suggestions.

Go Bears!
Nort Thornton Sandy Barbour
Head Men's Swimming Coach Director of Athletics

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x