Chris Rhodes, Head Coach

Edinboro University President Dr. Frank G. Pogue announced the appointment of former Fighting Scot All-American Chris Rhodes as head swimming coach in October of 2002. Since that time, the former Edinboro All-American has worked hard to restore the program to the level it stood at during his swimming days in the 1990’s.

Rhodes competed for Edinboro from 1991-95, earning All-American honors in 1993-94 and 1994-95 as a member of freestyle relay teams. He also earned All-PSAC honors and set a school record as a member of the 200 freestyle relay team. The 200 freestyle relay team finished second at Nationals while setting a PSAC record that stood for six years. He was graduated from Edinboro in December 1995 with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education.

Part of legendary teams while a swimmer at Edinboro, Rhodes’ goal is simple yet ambitious -- to return the Fighting Scots to a prominent spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. He spent his spent his first two years building the foundation, and a year ago the Fighting Scots started to turn the corner. A year ago Edinboro had its first All-American since Rhodes’senior season, as freshman Brooke Heath finished third in the 200-yard breaststroke and fourth in the 100-yard breaststroke. In addition, she was named the PSAC Rookie of the Year.

The women’s team finished with a 4-5 record after back-to-back 4-6 season his first two years. The men’s team, meanwhile, went 3-4, its most wins in several years. The Fighting Scots were 1-6 in eacxh of his first two seasons. The records also don’t indicate how much Edinboro has closed the gap with the competition since Rhodes’ arrival. For instance, the women have set 35 new top ten times while the men’s swimmers have set six.

The swimming teams have also shown marked improvement academically under Rhodes’ leadership. The women’s team has earned All-Academic honors as a team from the College Swimming Coaches Association of America all but one semester, and the men’s team also has been honored.

Rhodes began his coaching career as an assistant swimming coach at Titusville High School in 1996-97, then moved on to Ashland University, one of the top programs on the Division II level, as an assistant swimming coach while completing work on his master's degree in Reading, which he received in August 1999. He returned to western Pennsylvania as the assistant swimming coach at Oil City Area High School for the 1999-2000 season. Prior to coming to Edinboro he served as the head coach of the Stroke Development Camp at Westminster College, and was a Reading Specialist in the Oil City Area School District.

Rhodes and his wife Stephanie reside in Erie. He is a member of both the College Swimming Coaches Association of America and the American Swimming Coaches Association.