Auburn’s Richard Quick Diagnosed With Malignant Brain Tumor; Auburn Confirms With Official Release – Updated with new Prayer Pager

"We're currently in the process of looking for the best care possible to fight this," Quick said. "I want to thank the countless individuals that have passed along their well wishes, thoughts and prayers."

Quick, who served as Auburn's head coach from 1978-82, took over the Tiger program for a second time in 2007. He is in his second season and sixth overall at Auburn.

"Richard is such an energetic person, has an incredibly positive attitude, and is bound by his faith," Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs said. "I know that he's going to meet this challenge head on, just as he has done with every endeavor he's encountered. We ask the Auburn Family to keep Richard and his family in their thoughts and prayers."

While the head coach of both the men's and women's programs at Auburn from 1978-82, Quick built the foundation for where the program is today, leading both programs to a combined four top-10 finishes on the national level.

Quick captured seven NCAA titles at Stanford and five at Texas, which is tied for the most in the history of Division I coaching. Internationally, Quick was the head coach of the United States team at the 1988, 1996, and 2000 Olympic Games and also served as an assistant at the 1984, `92, and 2004 Olympics.

Quick, 65, served as the head women's swimming and diving coach at Stanford for 17 seasons from 1988-2005. Prior to his arrival at Stanford, Quick led the Texas women to a then-unprecedented five straight NCAA titles (1984-88), a string he extended to six in a row in his first season at Stanford.

Quick also served as the men's head coach at Iowa State during the 1977-78 season and the women's head coach at Southern Methodist in 1976-77.

Quick earned a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education (1965) and a Master's degree in Physiology of Exercise (1977) from Southern Methodist.

He began his coaching career at Houston's Memorial High School (1965-71), guiding his team to six state championships before returning to SMU, where he served as an assistant coach on the men's side for four years (1971-75) before starting the SMU women's program in 1976.

In the interim under Quick's direction, Brett Hawke will oversee the men's team, while Dorsey Tierney-Walker will run the women's program.

A 17-time All-American swimmer at Auburn from 1997-99, Hawke has served as an assistant on the Plains since 2006. The Sydney, Australia, native and two-time Olympian served as a Brazilian National Team assistant coach during the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.