Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick<\/p>\n
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, September 3. THE\u00a0dramatic rise of the Texas A&M women\u2019s swimming program into a national power under Steve Bultman has been rewarded with a contract extension for the Aggies\u2019 head coach, Director of Athletics Eric Hyman announced on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Entering his 15th season in Aggieland, Bultman\u2019s new contract will run through June 30, 2016 with the opportunity for up to two additional one-year extensions.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely nice to be appreciated and noticed for the team\u2019s accomplishments,\u201d Bultman said. \u201cI\u2019m very excited about this recruiting class (ranked No. 1 by CollegeSwimming.com) that just came in and this contract allows for me to coach them through their four years and beyond. I intend to coach the Aggies for many more years and I\u2019m appreciative of the Texas A&M administration for making it possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prior to Bultman taking over the reins of the program for the 1999-2000 season, the Aggie women\u2019s team had never finished higher than third at a conference meet. Since his arrival, the Aggies have never finished lower than second at a conference championship. On the national scale, the Aggies have logged top 10 finishes at the NCAA Championships for eight straight seasons, including finishing a program-best fourth at the last two NCAA meets.<\/p>\n
His influence on the sport of swimming isn\u2019t limited to Texas A&M. Bultman served on the U.S. Olympic staff in 1988 and again in 2012, and he served on the Estonian Olympic Team\u2019s staff for the 2008 Games. In addition to coaching a trio of U.S. Olympians from the Greater Pensacola Aquatic Club in 1988, he has overseen the development of 10 Olympians at Texas A&M, including three U.S. Olympians.<\/p>\n
\u201cCoach Bultman is widely respected in the women\u2019s swimming community not only in our conference and across the United States, but worldwide,\u201d Hyman said. \u201cWhat he has built here at Texas A&M is simply off-the-charts, and we are glad that Steve will be here in Aggieland for many more years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bultman\u2019s Aggies won four Big 12 team championships, and he has been named conference Coach of the Meet or Year 13 times as of 2014. Under his direction, Texas A&M produced its first NCAA individual champions with a pair of wins in 2010 and has generated six more national champions since those breakthrough victories. Along the way, the Aggies have broken two NCAA, U.S. Open and American records, as well as a numerous Big 12 and Southeastern Conference records.<\/p>\n