Junior standout begins NCAA quest Thursday in Auburn.
Mike Litzinger is in his fifth season with the Carolina swimming program as head coach Rich DeSelm's top assistant. In June of 2011, he was promoted to the position of associate head coach, the first such designation in UNC's long swimming history.
Litzinger has been a key element in the success of the program over the past four seasons. The Tar Heels have had great success at both the confe-rence and national levels in that time. Both teams have finished second in the ACC the past four years and the women's team had their highest point total at ACCs in four years when they competed at the 2011 conference championships. Carolina women's swimmers won five individual and two relay titles at last year's league meet while the men also won five individual titles.
Nationally, the UNC men have posted back-to-back Top 15 NCAA finishes, the first time they have done that since the late 1960s while the women have made the Top 25 of the NCAA rankings three straight years. In 2010-11, UNC swimmers set eight school records on the women's side and 11 more on the men's side.
"I am excited for Mike to be elevated to the position of associate head coach," DeSelm said. "He is a seasoned and experienced coach who has loyally demonstrated that he is an effective leader who understands and implements the goals of our program. Since his arrival, North Carolina's swimming and diving program has improved and Mike has played a significant role in our success. I believe elevating Mike to associate head coach will be well received by our team members and staff, parents and alumni and prospects."
"I am extremely grateful to Coach DeSelm, Dick Baddour and Dr. Beth Miller to have the confidence in me and our program to make this happen," Litzinger said. "The University of North Carolina is a very special place, and I am proud to be able to represent the swimming and diving program as the associate head coach. It is a truly exciting time for our program, and I am looking forward to continuing to help build upon the success we have had over the past four seasons."
Litzinger, previously the head swimming coach at the University of Utah, was hired in June 2007 to be a full-time assistant coach at Carolina, taking the job as head coach Rich DeSelm's top assistant. Litzinger is involved in all aspects of the program with his primary responsibilities coaching the middle distance group and heading up Carolina's recruiting efforts.
In his seven seasons in Salt Lake City, Litzinger reinvigorated the Utah men's and women's swimming and diving and teams, crafting hem into a pair of top teams in the Mountain West Conference and the nation. Litzinger is known as an innovative coach, a possessor of brilliant on-deck coaching techniques and a great evaluator of talent. He turned Utah into a highly competitive program with an influx of talent and a winning attitude.
During his last year in Salt Lake City, the Utes had a particularly memorable season in 2006-07. The women went undefeated in dual meets at 10-0, upping their mark over three seasons to an impressive 28-1. The women had three conference champions, while Amber Walter won the MWC swimmer-of-the-year award and Kelsey Patterson garnered the MWC diver-of-the-year accolades. The women established six school records in 2007 and placed 12 individuals and four relay teams on the all-conference squad. At the 2007 NCAA Championships, Alison McIntuff earned All-America honors in the 200-yard freestyle with a scorching time of 1:46.56. The men's team finished the 2006-07 campaign with six Ute swimmers and divers landing on the all-conference squad.
Prior to that final season, Utah won three successive women's Mountain West Conference championships in a row from 2004-06. He won MWC women's coach of the year honors in 2002 and 2006.
Overall, in Litzinger's seven years, the Utes broke 35 school records, qualified eight athletes in 23 different events for the NCAA Championships and had 14 swimmers qualify for U.S. Nationals. Both programs garnered All-Academic status from the College Swimming Coaches Association of Ameri-ca.
Litzinger has received numerous accolades for his dedication to the sport of swimming. He was awarded Eastern Intercollegiate coach-of-the-year awards in 1992 and 1994 and Atlantic 10 Conference coach-of-the-year accolades in 1996 and 1997 while serving as the head coach at St. Bonaventure University.
After leaving St. Bonaventure and before going to Utah, Litzinger was the assistant men's coach at Ohio State from 1997-2000. While there, he helped lead the team to two Top 25 NCAA finishes.
At St. Bonaventure from 1989-97, Litzinger was head coach of the women's swimming program. He led the Bonnies to an ECAC title and two Atlantic 10 Conference championships in his tenure there.
Litzinger began his coaching career at Fredonia State University in New York in 1988-89. While at Fredonia State, Litzinger took the Blue Devils to a second place SUNYAC Conference finish.
A 1984 graduate of Hobart College, Litzinger received his bachelor's degree in English and was captain of the Hobart swimming team in 1983-84. The same year he was voted the program's most valuable swimmer. In 1988, he received his master's degree in exercise science from the University of Iowa. While working on his master's degree, Litzinger was the Hawkeyes' graduate assistant men's coach.
The New York native and his wife, Julie, reside in Durham, N.C. The Litzingers have two children, Gabrielle, five years old, and Grace, four years old.
