Texas Longhorns Men's Swimming Team bids farewell to long-time coach Eddie Reese 

Texas Longhorns Men's swimming team exchanged their farewells with longtime swimming coach Eddie Reese following the NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Reese guided the men's swimming team for the last time at the tournament held at the Indiana University Natatorium in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, from March 27 to 30.

The 82-year-old stepped into the coach's shoes for the Texas men's team in 1978 after serving as an assistant coach for the Florida Gators from 1967 to 1972 and as a coach for the Auburn Tigers from 1973 to 1978.

Before stepping into the coaching journey, Reese represented the Florida Gators men's swimming team from 1961 to 1963. Throughout his 45-year coaching career, he led the Texas Longhorns men's team to 15 NCAA Championships titles from 1981-2021.

Reese initially decided to retire from his coaching position following the 2021 season but eventually decided to reverse it. 29 Texas Longhorns swimmers have achieved the prestigious Olympian status under Reese, and a total of 63 Olympic medals have been bagged under his guidance.

The Texas Men's Swimming and Diving Team took to X (Formerly known as Twitter) to express their farewell to the former college swimmer and wrote,

"Thank you, Coach Reese."

"Swimming has nothing to do with winning or trophies" - Eddie Reese on his takeaways from coaching career

Eddie Reese's coaching career has been adorned with numerous awards, inlcuding the CSCAA Coach of the Year, which he earned eight times.

Other plethora of awards and honors include the Longhorn Hall of Honor, the International Swimming Hall of Fame, and the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. Despite his substantial list of awards, during an interview with Swimming World, Reese stressed the value of interpersonal relationships he gained throughout his coaching career.

"The thing I got most out of coaching swimming has nothing to do with winning or trophies or anything like that," Reese 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."

Eddie Reese trained multiple elite swimmers, including the Hall of Famers Neil Walker, Rick Carey, Ian Crocker, and Brendan Hansen. Reese will step down from his position after the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials slated in June in Indianapolis, Indiana.