Northern Iowa’s Doug Humphrey Takes South Dakota State Head Coaching Position

Photo Courtesy: South Dakota State Athletics

After serving as the head coach of the University of Northern Iowa Women’s Swimming & Diving programs for five seasons, head coach Doug Humphrey resigned from his position for the same role at South Dakota State University.

In his five years, he led the UNI team to 14 Missouri Valley Conference Titles and earned MVC Coach of the Year honors in 2015-16. He will succeed Brad Erickson at SDSU, who is retiring after a 41-year career for the Jackrabbits.

Humphrey will begin his duties at SDSU in June, and said the move is a career progression as well as an opportunity to be closer to family.

Photo Courtesy: Northern Iowa Athletics

Northern Iowa Press Release

University of Northern Iowa swimming and diving coach Doug Humphrey will take over as the new head swimming and diving coach at South Dakota State University.

“Doug did a great job in turning around our swimming and diving program,” UNI Director of Athletics David Harris said. “Doug made tremendous strides to give our student-athletes opportunities to compete for and win Missouri Valley Conference championships. His vision and leadership provided an ideal environment that allowed our program to grow. We will remain committed to having successful swimmers and divers at UNI and will begin our national search for a successor immediately.”

Humphrey served as the Panther swimming & diving coach for the past five seasons and he guided the program to heights it had never seen. When Humphrey took over in the 2012-13 season, UNI had won one Missouri Valley Conference individual/relay championship. At the conclusion of the 2016-17 season, Humphrey had led UNI to 14 MVC individual/relay titles.

In each of the past two seasons, UNI has had seven first-team all-conference performances giving Humphrey a total of 16 first-team all-MVC honorees in his five seasons as the Panther head coach – doubling UNI’s all-time first-team all-MVC honorees to 32 in the history of the women’s swimming and diving program.

Humphrey was named the MVC Swimming Coach of the Year in 2015-16 after leading UNI to its highest finish ever with a third-place tally. The Panthers also matched that third-place effort in the 2016-17 MVC Championship hosted by UNI in Iowa City.

South Dakota State Press Release

Doug Humphrey, who has served as head coach of the women’s swimming and diving team at Northern Iowa the past five seasons, has been hired to lead both the men’s and women’s programs at South Dakota State University, Jackrabbit Director of Athletics Justin Sell announced Monday.

“Accepting this position allows me to take another step in my coaching career, gets both my wife and me closer to our families and, most importantly, provides an opportunity to build on a number of good things already in place,” said Humphrey, a Nebraska native. “I know I have big shoes to fill, but I look forward to taking both the men’s and women’s teams to new heights.”

At SDSU, Humphrey will take over the reins from Brad Erickson, who is retiring after leading both programs for 41 years. The Jackrabbit men’s team has posted six consecutive top-three finishes at the Summit League Championships, while the women’s squad has been league runner-up six of the last eight seasons.

“We are thrilled to have been able to hire someone with the experience and track record of success that Doug has put together during his coaching career,” Sell said. “More than anything, his commitment to fostering a family atmosphere in his programs and providing student-athletes with a tremendous overall collegiate experience stands out.”

Humphrey’s UNI teams showed steady progression in the Missouri Valley Conference, including leading the Panthers to back-to-back third-place finishes at the conference championship the past two seasons. He was named MVC Swimming Coach of the Year in 2016.

During his tenure, UNI won 14 individual or relay conference titles and compiled 16 first-team all-MVC awards.

Prior to coaching at UNI, Humphrey served as the assistant swimming coach at the University of Nebraska from 2000-12 under Olympic gold medalist Pablo Morales. Humphrey swam for the Huskers from 1991-96 and later served as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater.

Aside from collegiate coaching, Humphrey was head coach of Club Huskers from 2003-12 and previously served as an age-group coach and head coach for the Nebraska Aquatics club team.

Humphrey will begin his duties at SDSU in June.

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