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Rick Swan, who led the University of Colorado to a 596-175 overall record and 22 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division III Volleyball Championship, was inducted into the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.
The Class of 2024 joins Swann in Henry Cejudo, Lauren Howe, Chucky Jeffery, Lou Vairo and Richard Clark, the 1983 Coronado High School volleyball team and the 1997 Sierra High School boys basketball team.
“We are thrilled that Rick has received this recognition for his accomplishments at the University of Colorado,” said Leslie Irvine, vice president and director of athletics. “This is also an opportunity to recognize his contributions to the growth of volleyball in the Colorado Springs community. Rick’s on-court accomplishments have solidified our volleyball program as one of the best Division III teams in the nation. We are grateful for everything he did.” Join our community in celebrating everything he gave to the sport here at the University of Colorado. ”
Swann finished his final season at CC (2020-21) with a perfect 17-0 record and was ranked No. 1 in the nation in Division III, but the NCAA playoffs were not held due to the pandemic.
CC has won 30 or more games nine times over the past 12 seasons, but only once has they dropped double-digit games. Swann’s total wins and winning percentage of .773 are both program records.
The Tigers’ 2019 season may be remembered as one of the best coaching performances of Swann’s career. Despite having three starters miss more than 50 games due to a series of injuries, he led the Tigers to a 32-5 record, advancing to the NCAA Tournament regional finals and finishing eighth in the final AVCA poll. did. Swann earned his 600th career win with a sweep of Randolph-Macon College on Oct. 11.
In 2009, Swan led CC to a 35-5 record and the program’s first and only appearance in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, where the Tigers lost in four sets to eventual national champion University of Washington. The University of Colorado advanced to the Elite Eight with five-set wins over West Division rivals California Lutheran University and the University of La Verne.
CC finished the season ranked No. 7 in the AVCA’s final poll, one of six times the Tigers finished in the top 10 on the year.
In 2017, Colorado earned the program’s first No. 1 ranking and finished the season with a 33-2 record, setting a program single-season record with a winning percentage of .943. During the regular season, the Tigers had a 7-0 record against the No. 1 ranked opponent in the nation, including a sweep of Calvin College, the first win in program history against an opponent ranked No. 1 at the time of the game. I got it.
The Tigers finished the regular season with a 14-0 record and won the Southern College Athletic Conference regular season title. That record also included two wins over Southwestern University and Trinity University, both of which were ranked in the top five on game day.
The Swans’ success rate in the SCAC was even more impressive, winning nearly 90 percent of their games with a 175-23 record. During its 14 seasons in the conference, Colorado won or shared seven regular season championships and six postseason championships. He was named SCAC Coach of the Year six times.
Swann totaled 629 wins and a winning percentage of .740 in his college career, including two years as head coach at Webster University in St. Louis.
Prior to her time at the University of Colorado, Swan led the St. Mary’s High School girls team to a state championship in 1996 and was named Coach of the Year by the Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News. St. Mary’s finished second (1994), third (1997) and fourth (1995) in the state during his five seasons there.
Since retiring from CC in July 2021, he has served as the head coach of the Saint Kitts and Nevis men’s and women’s national teams and has competed around the world. Swann continues to give back to youth volleyball by promoting and guiding the development of youth volleyball programs on the Island and leading youth camps in Boulder.
