Eddie Reese to spearhead Texas Longhorns Men's Swimming team for one last time before Olympic Trials

Texas Longhorns Men's long-time swimming team coach Eddie Reese will lead his team for the last time before retiring.

Before stepping into the coach's role, he represented the Florida Gators from 1961 to 1963. He started his college coaching career in 1967 after resuming as the Assistant coach for the Gators.

After serving the Gators until 1972, he coached the Auburn Tigers swimming team before joining the Texas Longhorns in 1978. Over 46 years, he led the Longhorns to 15 NCAA Swimming titles, including 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021.

He was awarded the CSCAA Coach of the Year award eight times. Under his guidance, the Texas Longhorns men's team finished as runner-ups 13 times and have been in the top-three positions thrice.

He has mentored numerous elite swimmers, including Hall of Famers Ian Crocker, Brendan Hansen, Aaron Peirsol, and Neil Walker. Reese will lead the Texas Longhorns men's team for the last time at the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships slated from March 27 to 30 in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.

Eddie Reese will bid farewell to the team after the 2024 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, scheduled to be held in June in Indianapolis.

"Coaching swimming has nothing to do with winning or trophies" - Eddie Reese ahead of his retirement

Eddie Reese has led the Texas Longhorns team to a plethora of victories, that led to his induction into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

The coach, who led the team to 45 consecutive Conference, 27 Southwest Conference, and 18 Big 12 Conference Championships, emphasized the significance of interpersonal relationships over victories and trophies during a conversation with Swimming Word.

“The thing I got most out of coaching swimming has nothing to do with winning or trophies or anything like that,” he said. “It all has to do with interpersonal relationships. Coaches are in a great position that I love because I’m a firm believer that if the purpose of our life is to help, it puts us in a position to do just that. In one of the books (I read), we all know the saying, ‘You can’t take it with you when you die.’ And then, underneath that, it said, ‘The only thing you take with you is that which you’ve given others.’ We’re here to help, and I’ve been able to do that.”

Under Eddie Reese's leadership, 29 Longhorn swimmers have achieved Olympian status and have secured a total of 63 Olympic medals.