Swimming and Diving Adds Two New Assistants

Aug. 8, 2011

A pair of new assistant coaches will join the Clemson men’s and women’s swimming and diving program for the 2011-12 season, Head Coach Christopher Ip announced.

Brooks Teal and Stu Wilson, both former head coaches in the Atlantic Coast Conference, have been hired and will be on the Tiger coaching staff for the upcoming season. Together, the 2011-12 Clemson staff will have 25 years of ACC head coaching experience.

“Due to the phase-out of the program, we are unable to field a full team because we have not been able to recruit swimmers for the past two years,” Ip said. “With the total exodus of the preexisting coaching staff to other Division I programs, I was committed to putting together a solid staff to guide our swimmers through this final year. I am very excited for the swimmers with the coaches we have attracted for the final year of the program.”

Teal comes to Clemson after serving as the head coach at N.C. State for the past 11 seasons. His men’s teams participated in three NCAA Championships, finishing 21st in 2005-06, and the women’s team finished 29th in the 2008-09 season.

In his time at his alma mater, he coached 20 All-ACC selections, 13 ACC champions, six All-Americans, and a pair of national champions. His student-athletes set more than 50 school records during his tenure, and he was named a finalist for the ASCA Coach of the Year in 2006. He also has coaching experience at the national level, as he was on the coaching staff for the United States squad at the 2007 World Championships in Australia.

Perhaps his most famous pupil is Cullen Jones, who won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 4×100 free relay with a time that still stands as a world record. He is also a national champion and American record-holder in the 50 free.

“I am thrilled to be joining Coach Chris Ip and Clemson swimming and diving,” Teal said. “I have great respect for what this program has accomplished and I am very excited about the 2011-2012 season.”

Wilson was the head coach at Georgia Tech for four seasons, from 2005-09. During his tenure, which included three years as an assistant coach with the Yellow Jackets, the program enjoyed a great deal of success.

He coached three ACC champions and seven All-Americans, as well as a host of all-conference performers. His swimmers also excelled in the classroom, as his program boasted numerous Academic All-ACC selections.

“I’m really excited about coming on board,” Wilson said. “I know Chris Ip has done a great job with the program, so I’m looking forward to working with him. I know there are a lot of elite swimmers there. One of things I’m impressed with is the loyalty in the program for those guys to stick with Chris. I’m really looking forward to a great year.”