San Diego State Hires Mike Shrader as Head Women’s Swimming and Diving Coach

SAN DIEGO, California, August 18. MIKE Shrader, who led Nevada to four NCAA championship appearances, two conference titles and an 87.7 winning percentage in eight seasons, has been named the head women's swimming and diving coach at San Diego State, Aztec athletic director Jeff Schemmel announced on Friday. Shrader becomes the second SDSU head coach since the program was reinstated in 1994.

"Mike Shrader is a proven winner and brings a championship resume to San Diego State," Schemmel said. "He exemplifies the qualities we sought in our head coach. We believe Mike will reenergize our program, provide leadership for our student-athletes and make our fans and alumni proud.

"We wanted a person of integrity who is focused on graduating student-athletes and competing at the highest level. We believe Mike will get that done."

Shrader comes to San Diego State from the University of Nevada in Reno, where he spent the past eight years as the head women's swimming and diving coach. While at Nevada, Shrader established an impressive 89-12-1 record in dual meet competition. He guided the 2006-07 squad to a perfect 18-0 mark and the program's first Western Athletic Conference championship en route to being named the WAC swimming coach of the year for the second time in his career. He previously earned the honor in 2002, when he led the Wolf Pack to a 10-2 record and a second-place finish at the WAC championships.

"I am extremely excited to be part of the Aztec family," Shrader said. "San Diego State is a fantastic university with remarkable facilities, including the new Aztec Aquaplex. I look forward to building a program that San Diego State fans will be proud of and that will compete for championships."

In his first year at Nevada in 1999-00, Shrader made an immediate impact as he led the program to its fifth-consecutive Big West Conference title and a 13th-place finish at the NCAA championships. After that first season, Shrader guided the Wolf Pack to a smooth transition into the nationally-competitive Western Athletic Conference, where under his leadership, Nevada won 10 or more dual meets and placed in the top three in the WAC each of the last six seasons.

Before heading the program at Nevada, Shrader coached in Amarillo, Texas, where he led numerous swimmers to state championships and to junior and senior nationals. Prior to his stint in Amarillo, he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Methodist University. While at SMU, Shrader helped the team place in the top 12 at the NCAA championships three times. During his tenure, the Mustangs had five national champions, two world record holders and four Olympians.

Shrader also had a stellar swimming career himself, as he was a junior college national champion and a seven-time All-American, while leading Midland College (Texas) to a second-place finish at the junior college national championships. His collegiate career continued at Texas A&M University, where he earned all-Southwest Conference honors and was a senior national qualifier.

Shrader earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Texas A&M in 1981, before finishing a master's degree in exercise and sports science from West Texas A&M University in 1991.

Special thanks to San Diego State for contributing this report.

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