Sculling Group Honors Florida Tech’s Granger
By Florida Tech // December 13, 2012
Men's Rowing Coach of Year Award
SARATOGA, NEW YORK – Florida Tech men’s head rowing coach Jim Granger received The Joy of Sculling’s College Coaches Award for the 2012 season at the organization’s annual conference here last weekend.
University of Virginia head coach Frank Biller presented the award to the Panthers’ sixth-year coach in front of more than 300 coaches. Biller, who has more than 20 years of rowing experience, won the award last season.
“I felt honored and humbled to receive an award like this one in front of my peers,” Granger said. “[This award] is a credit to the program, our Athletic Director Bill Jurgens, our support staff and everyone that has helped our program. It wasn’t an award for one particular race, an event or how we’ve improved the last couple of years. One of the facets I enjoy about coaching is educating student-athletes and passing along what I’ve learned to them.”
Under his guidance, FIT’s men’s varsity eight has won the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship three times.
When the Panthers hoisted the trophy in 2009, it marked the first time they had won the event in 17 years.
Their success has carried over to the prestigious Aberdeen Dad Vail Regatta. In the last three seasons, the varsity eight has raced to two second-place finishes and a third-place finish.
Last season, FIT came in second by a mere 34-hundredth of a second to defending champion University of Michigan.
The Panthers were invited to compete in the world renowned Henley Royal Regatta for the first time since 1996 following the 2010 Dad Vail Regatta. On historic River Thames, they went up against the likes of Cambridge University and Yale University.
Looking back, Granger spoke highly of The Joy of Sculling conference in which he attended for the first time.
“The ability to share information in a very casual setting with the people you respect in your sport is awesome,” he said. “Personally, I found a lot of value in the seminars I attended. [Assistant coach] Casey [Dalal] and I left with some things we need to work on, what we’d like to change and some things we think we’re doing okay on. It was an excellent weekend.”
FIT will open its men’s spring rowing schedule in March.
