Dan Ross, a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, completed his 37th season as head coach of the Purdue men's swimming & diving team and his 45th year of association with Boilermaker Aquatics during the 2021-22 school year. He is the longest-tenured of all 16 Purdue head coaches and is also the dean of Big Ten head coaches for swimming & diving.
Ross was recognized as the Big Ten Coach of the Year in three different decades -- 1988, 1997, and most meaningful, in 2009 following a season in which his wife Sally overcame a battle with breast cancer. Purdue tied its highest Big Ten finish in program history as the host of the 2009 conference championship meet.
With an all-time dual meet record of 206-169, Ross ranks as the winningest coach in the program's history. Purdue has scored at the NCAA Championships for 26 consecutive years, finishing among the top 25 at the national championship meet in 14 of the last 17 seasons the meet has been held. Thirteen NCAA diving titles since 2009, six won by 2012 Olympic gold medalist David Boudia, have also brought a new level of excellence to the program. Fellow Olympian Steele Johnson did his part to keep the Purdue divers among the nation's elite, winning five NCAA titles. Brandon Loschiavo's big 2021 included an NCAA title on platform and an Olympic bid for Team USA after he was also victorious in the event at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America selected Ross as its 2022 recipient of the Richard E. Steadman Award, recognizing him for doing his part to spread happiness across the sport. Ross' impact has been felt at the grassroots level of the sport. He has been one of the most active members of the CSCAA Mentoring Program. As Fresno State head coach Jeanne Fleck noted in her nomination, "He helps everyone, including other coaches, and would go out of his way to make you feel welcome and important." Michigan State's Matt Gianiodis agreed, writing that "Dan is the most positive person I have ever met. He cares first and foremost about the sport. He has happiness and pride in his team excelling, but he also feels the same way about rivals. His attitude is infectious and he is the perfect person for this award."
The Boilermakers matched a program record with 10 NCAAs qualifiers in 2022, finishing in 15th place for their fifth top-20 showing in the last seven national championship meets. Nikola Acin eclipsed a team record in the 50 freestyle that had stood since 2009, was part of both medal-winning relays at Big Tens and helped Purdue score in the 400 free relay at NCAAs to earn his sixth career All-America accolade. Brady Samuels was part of five program records, headlined by taking down a team benchmark in the 100 butterfly that had stood since 2009. Along with being a key contributor on relays, Samuels also set freshman records in the 100 free, 100 back and 100 fly – moving into the top two in team history in the freestyle and backstroke.
Purdue made the most of its pandemic-impacted 2021 campaign, with nine student-athletes qualifying for the national championship meet while combining to earn 14 All-America honors. After finishing fourth at the Big Ten Championships for the sixth time since 2009 (also in 2010, 2015, 2018, 2019), the Boilermakers scored in seven of their 12 events at NCAAs -- both totals representing program records -- to finish in 17th place nationally.
Acin was a two-time silver medalist at Big Tens, a championship finalist at NCAAs, a big part of Purdue's relay success and an Olympian with Serbia's 4x100 free relay team. He won silver in the 100 freestyle and became the first Boilermaker to eclipse 42 seconds (41.81) in the event, besting Danny Tucker's program record (42.84) from 2013 by nearly a full second. Nick Sherman set program records in the 200 free and 200 IM while also contributing to team records in all three freestyle relays. He swam the leadoff leg on both honorable mention All-America relay teams (200 and 400 free) at NCAAs.
A year earlier, it was the 200 medley relay team that medaled at Big Tens. Greg Duncan also won the Big Ten title in 3-meter diving. Michael Juengel, Trent Pellini, Ryan Hrosik and Acin teamed up to win bronze in the 200 medley relay (1:24.44), besting the team's NCAA Championships-qualifying mark from a year earlier. Sherman and Pellini went on to qualify for NCAAs via the breaststroke events.
From 2019 to 2021, the Boilermakers eclipsed team records in all five relays. Acin and Pellini were part of records in all five relays. In 2021, Pellini earned honorable mention All-America accolades in the 100 breaststroke and 400 free relay. Excluding All-American honors from 2020 when student-athletes were recognized in the wake of the cancellation of the NCAA Championships, Pellini became Purdue's first male swimmer to be a multi-year All-American in an individual event since Lyam Dias (200 breast) in 2014 and 2015.
In 2019, the Boilermakers finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships and 23rd at the NCAA Championships. They placed fourth at Big Tens for the second year in a row, joining the 2009 and 2010 teams as the only ones to finish fourth in consecutive years. Loschiavo repeated as the Big Ten champion on the tower on his way to becoming just the fourth diver in league history to win career titles on 10-meter. The Boilermakers earned All-America honors in six events at the NCAA Championships.
Pellini's record in the 100 breaststroke helped the Boilermakers qualify a relay for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2015. Meanwhile, both the 2019 and 2021 teams had a pair of All-American relays. Even with all the relay success Purdue had enjoyed under Ross, prior to 2019 the program had never produced two All-American relays in the same year.
Ross helped rally support to create the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, a two-day all-star meet held in West Lafayette in November 2018. The co-ed showcase received live television coverage from the Big Ten Network.
Johnson’s fifth career NCAA title, a fourth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and another top-20 showing at the NCAA Championships highlighted Purdue's 2017-18 campaign. Marat Amaltdinov, Joe Cifelli and Loschiavo also returned to the NCAA Championships. Amaltdinov closed out his career by qualifying for NCAAs in the breaststroke events for the fourth time. He was named an Academic All-American for the second year in a row and was also Purdue’s male recipient of the Big Ten Medal of Honor.
Joe Young eclipsed both of the program’s backstroke records at the 2018 Big Ten Championships, winning bronze in the 100 back. He broke both records again a year later as a senior. Batuhan Hakan also established a team benchmark in the 500 freestyle.
All five Boilermakers that competed at the 2017 NCAA Championships earned All-America honors, helping Purdue finish in 13th place for the third time in recent years (also in 2009 and 2010). That matches the program's top national finish in the modern era. Johnson swept the springboard diving national titles, claiming Big Ten and NCAA Diver of the Year honors for the second time. After repeating as the Big Ten champion in the 200 breaststroke, Amaltdinov finished seventh in the event at the NCAA Championships. He became the first Purdue swimmer to earn full-fledged All-America honors since 2006. While graduating in three years with a 3.81 GPA, he was also named an Academic All-American.
As the 2017 Big Ten champions in the 200 breast and platform diving, Amaltdinov and Johnson teamed up to give the Boilermakers conference champions in both a swimming event and diving event in the same year for only the second time (first since 2009). Amaltdinov became the first Purdue swimmer since Louis Paul won three straight 200 IM titles from 2003 to 2005 to repeat as the Big Ten champion in an event.
Johnson and Boudia qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games and the Boilermakers were represented by 15 men at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials (10 swimmers, 5 divers).
Purdue had the opportunity to host the Big Ten Championships again in 2016 and 2022, with the 2016 edition being highlighted by Amaltdinov's victory in the 200 breast. Amaltdinov would have been seeded third in the 200 breast at the 2016 NCAA Championships, but opted to forgo his berth at NCAAs in order to train for the Russian Olympic Trials. The sophomore finished ninth in the 200 breast at the Russian Trials, which Ross was was able to attend in person. Amaltdinov became the fifth Purdue swimmer to win a Big Ten breaststroke title under Ross. With Lyam Dias also winning the 200 breast title in 2015, the Boilermakers won the event three years in a row from 2015 to 2017.
Two NCAA diving titles for Johnson and Dias claiming the program's first Big Ten title in a swimming event since 2009 highlighted the 2014-15 season. Johnson and Dias were among the four the Boilermakers to score at the national championship meet as Purdue finished in 17th place in the team scoring with 75 points. It was the program's top showing since 2011. A month earlier at the Big Ten Championships, Dias' victory in the 200 breaststroke highlighted a thrilling final day in which the Boilers held off Wisconsin and Minnesota to finish fourth in the team scoring.
During his career at Purdue, Ross has coached 18 individual Big Ten champions and one conference champion relay team. He also has led 32 swimmers to NCAA All-America acclaim and overseen several international competitors, including a streak that included placing at least one swimmer in three straight Olympic Games beginning with the 1996 Olympiad in Atlanta and continuing through the 2004 Games in Athens. Ross also has seen his athletes advance to the World Championships, Open Water Championships, World University Games, Southeast Asian Games, Pan American Games, Pan Pacific Games and Maccabi Games.
In the summer of 2013, Danny Tucker won the 100-meter freestyle at the U.S. Open in Southern California, becoming the program's first USA Swimming national champion. Matt Friede and Tucker closed out their careers in the spring of 2014 as three-time NCAA Championships qualifiers. Friede was named the male Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient for all of Purdue athletics. The Boilermakers' 200 freestyle relay team in 2013 garnered honorable mention All-America recognition for the second year in a row by qualifying for the consolation final at NCAAs.
Ten swimmers also represented the Boilermakers at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Omaha.
Led by All-American performances from divers Boudia, Danny Cox and J.P. Perez in Minneapolis, the Boilermakers finished 16th at the 2011 NCAA Championships with 88 teams points. Purdue was third among the Big Ten programs that scored at the national championship meet. All three Boilermakers qualified for the championship final of platform diving, a rare feat that Purdue would duplicate again in 2015. Boudia capped his college career by sweeping the springboard diving titles for the second year in a row.
The 2009-10 season in the pool was highlighted by Sam Wilcher. The senior capped his career by breaking the Purdue 200 butterfly record, which he had held since his sophomore season, twice at the NCAA Championships. Wilcher eventually lowered the record to 1:43.82 and finished 11th for honorable mention All-America status. Wilcher also broke the record at the Big Ten Championships, where he won bronze and completed a career sweep of scoring in both the 100 and 200 butterfly at all four conference championship meets.
The 2008-09 season saw Andrew Langenfeld's 19.34 clocking in the 50 freestyle give him the Big Ten title, the Doris Z. Holloway Pool record and made him the fastest swimmer in conference history at the time.
Ross was rewarded for placing so many athletes in international competitions when he served as an assistant on Dennis Dale's staff at the 2007 World University Games in Bangkok, Thailand. Ross was joined at the World University Games by Boilermakers Romain Maire, Amanda Miller, Giordan Pogioli, Zach Schultz and Adam and Kimiko Soldati. Ross also attended the 2015 World University Games in South Korea to help mentor Amaltdinov, who competed in the 200-meter breaststroke for Russia. He also made the trip across the Pacific for the 2017 Summer Universiade in Taipei and 2019 World Championships back in Gwangju. A school-record eight Boilermakers (four active, four alumni) qualified for the 2019 World Championships.
Ross also has been able to establish a program known for its academic excellence. He encourages a balance between school, swimming and social activities in all his swimmers' lives. Because of that balance, Ross has produced CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and CSCAA Scholar All-Americans. That lists includes: Brian Daly (1993), Dean Fredette (1994), Matt Brown (1997), Louis Paul (2005), Jamie Bissett (2014 and 2015), Amaltdinov (2017 and 2018) and Ben Bramley (2021 and 2022). Ross also has mentored dozens of CSCAA Scholar All-Americans as well as numerous Big Ten Distinguished Scholars and even more Academic All-Big Ten student-athletes.
He has coached seven Big Ten Medal of Honor winners in Daly (1992), Brown (1997), Kovacs (1999), Paul (2005), Pogioli (2006), Friede (2014) and Amaltdinov (2018). Ross's teams have been regularly presented with the school's "25/85" award. Men's swimming and diving was honored because it finished among the national top 25 during the athletic year while maintaining a cumulative grade-point average that met or exceeded expectations over four consecutive semesters, thereby supporting Purdue's goal of reaching an 85-percent graduation rate.
Ross's involvement with Purdue swimming & diving began in 1977, when he walked on to the swim team. He competed in the individual medley and middle distance freestyle events. In 1980, Ross received the Most Improved Swimmer Award and was named team co-captain in 1981. After graduating, Ross continued at Purdue in a quarter-time position during the 1981-82 season and then served as a half-time assistant coach the next year. He was given the full-time assistant position from 1983 to 1985, and in 1985 he landed the head coaching position.
A native of North Augusta, S.C., Ross earned a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology from Purdue in 1984. He is married to the former Sally Johnson, also a Purdue graduate, who was a Boilermaker swimmer and a two-event Big Ten champion in 1980. Sally is a coach and administrator for Boilermaker Aquatics, West Lafayette's local USA Swimming club.
The Ross family, which also includes sons Eric, Matt and Andy, resides in West Lafayette. All three sons went on to swim competitively in college after growing up around the Purdue program. Andy is now a writer and video producer for Swimming World and the International Swimming Hall of Fame Museum.