Florida Tech Promotes David Dent To Head Coach For Men’s and Women’s Swimming
By Florida Tech // June 20, 2018
takes over for Justin Andrade
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech Athletic Director Bill Jurgens announced today the promotion of David Dent to head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming programs.
“The Florida Tech Swimming program is fortunate to have Coach Dent as its new head men’s & women’s coach,” stated Jurgens. “Coach Dent has the experience and coaching attributes that make him a great fit for Florida Tech.
“He was an accomplished collegiate swimmer, served two years as a head coach at another institution and this past season did an admirable job as our assistant coach. I enjoyed the conversations I had with him this past year and the way he relates to our student-athletes.”
During his lone campaign with FIT in 2017-18, Dent played an integral role in further developing the Panthers into one of the top swim programs in the Sunshine State Conference. It is no coincidence that during his first season in Melbourne, the Florida Tech Swimming program had one of its greatest overall performances at the SSC Championships, racking up four conference titles and nine podium visits. The men’s team earned its best result at the conference meet, finishing third in standings with 549 points.
While at the 2018 NCAA Championships, the Panthers notched four Top-5 results and garnered six All-American distinctions. The men’s team closed out the season ranked 15th in the final CSCAA Division II poll.
“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to be the next head coach of Florida Tech’s men’s and women’s swimming programs,” said Dent.
“I’m excited to grow and develop both teams, as well as my coaching skills. I believe, as a unit, FIT will be making big waves this upcoming season and in the future.”
Since the conclusion of the 2017-18 season, Dent has been hard at work on the recruiting trail and has already received 17 commitments for the 2022 class, the most ever in program history.
Prior to Florida Tech, Dent spent two seasons serving as Interim Head Swim Coach at West Virginia University Institute of Technology. He was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference Men’s Coach of the Year in 2016-17 after the men’s swim team won the AAC Championship. Also that season, the Golden Bears’ women’s squad finished runner-up at the AAC Championships.
Dent graduated from Fairmont State University in 2014 with a degree in exercise science. He was a four-year member of the Fairmont State men’s swimming team, co-captaining the Fighting Falcons during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. Dent competed in the 2013 NCAA DII National Championships and still holds seven school records at FSU.
CLICK HERE FOR BREVARD COUNTY NEWS
