Purdue Promotes Alex Jerden to Take Men’s Swim Head Coaching Job

Photo Courtesy: Purdue Athletics

Purdue Promotes Alex Jerden to Take Men’s Swim Head Coaching Job

Alex Jerden has been promoted to the head coaching job at Purdue, replacing the retiring Dan Ross, the school announced on Tuesday.

Jerden graduated from Purdue in 2009. He was hired as an assistant coach in West Lafayette ahead of the 2019-20 season. He now takes over for his long-time mentor, who announced at the end of the season that he would retire after 42 years at the helm.

“The opportunity to lead Purdue as head coach is the highest honor of my coaching career and the responsibility I feel to the program, to the alumni and to Purdue is a privilege and joy to have,” Jerden said in a university statement. “Throughout most of my life, the coaches and mentors I’ve had and worked with in swimming have invested in me beyond measure, for which I am incredibly grateful. And so, accepting this position is an exciting amplification of the role I will have to help people as purposefully and as abundantly as I can. That I get to do this through this sport and at Purdue University with fantastic people around me is a beautiful thing.”

With Jerden on staff, Purdue has seen recent success at Big Tens, with swimming medals at each of the last four meets, including a three-year streak of relay medals from 2020-22, for the first time since 2001-03.

Jerden had 13 years of coaching experience before returning to the Purdue staff. That included five seasons with Boilermaker Aquatics and two seasons as a volunteer assistant for the University of Texas men’s team under Eddie Reese and Wyatt Collins. He was in Austin for the Longhorns’ NCAA runner-up result in 2019.

“As we evaluated candidates through our search process, it became clear to us that Alex Jerden was the right person to carry on the proud tradition of Purdue Men’s Swimming & Diving,” Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski said. “Alex’s work as an assistant here at Purdue under Dan Ross and his other coaching experiences have prepared him well for this opportunity. We look forward to helping support Alex’s vision for success in every way possible and are excited to see what the future holds for the Boilermakers under his leadership.”

Name*

Email*

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