NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Niagara University Director of Athletics
Simon Gray has announced the hiring of Eric Bugby as the head coach of the Purple Eagles men's and women's swimming and diving teams.
"Eric emerged as the lead candidate for our head coaching position because of his extensive experience in developing student-athletes," said Gray. "In addition to training top-level swimmers, Eric will be focused on providing an elite-level experience for all members of our programs. One of Eric's first tasks will be hiring our first full-time assistant coach whose priorities also align with our University mission."
Bugby most recently served as the Associate Head Coach for men's and women's swimming and diving at Lehigh University. Bugby was named the 2018 Patriot League Women's Coach of the Year and achieved five NCAA standards. In his time at Lehigh, the Mountain Hawks set 32 combined team records and qualified eight swimmers for Winter Nationals and four for Open Water Nationals.
While at Lehigh, Bugby was the recruiting coordinator and also managed the recruiting, apparel, equipment and travel budgets. He was a member of the athletic department's awards committee and staff development committee.
Prior to Lehigh, Bugby served as an Assistant Coach at Denver from 2016-17. He was the recruiting coordinator and served as the lead for NCAA compliance. While at Denver, Bugby had 15 All-Americans and earned five All-American honors at the 2017 NCAA Championships. The team finished first in the national mid-major poll and achieved 59 NCAA standards. Bugby helped the team to 36 wins out of 40 events at the Summit League Championship and qualified two swimmers for the 2016 and 2017 FINA World Championships.
Bugby had two stints at the United States Military Academy, serving as the Associate Head Coach from 2014-16 and as an Assistant Coach from 2010-13. He was the Head Coach and Aquatics Director at the Illinois Institute of Technology from 2013-14.
Bugby got his start in coaching as a Graduate Assistant Coach at Arizona State University from 2007-09.
"I would like to thank Director of Athletics
Simon Gray and Associate Athletic Director
Dedra Palmer for the opportunity to serve Niagara University and the community as its head swimming and diving coach," said Bugby. "I was instantly impressed with the level of dedication to the student-athletes and the communication within the athletic department. Niagara has a championship pedigree and I can't wait to lead the program back there with a culture of academic and athletic excellence. I am excited to build a cohesive and dynamic team as well as provide an unrivaled student-athlete experience. I would also like to thank Lehigh University and its head swimming and diving coach Rob Herb for helping me grow as an individual, coach and leader."
Bugby graduated from Duquesne in 2007 with a bachelor's in English and earned his master's degree in higher and postsecondary education from Arizona State in 2009.
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