Gregg Troy

Head Coach

In 11 years at the helm of the University of Florida men's and women's swimming head coach Gregg Troy has created an atmosphere of consistency and excellence around the Gator program. The result has been the elevation of one of the most storied collegiate programs to even higher levels of success.

SEC team titles, All-Americans, and Coach of the Year honors are just some of Troy's accomplishments during his tenure at Florida. In 11 seasons with the women's squad and 10 years with the men's team, Troy has guided the Gators to more than 60 SEC titles, more than 200 SEC Academic Honor Roll selections and more than 550 All-America honors.

And that's just at Florida.

In his career, he's tutored approximately 70 Olympians, over 200 All-America swimmers and has coached athletes to more than 150 U.S. and international records.

In summer 2009, senior Gemma Spofforth captured the spotlight of the world when she shattered the World Record in the women's 100-meter backstroke (58.12), winning her first World Championship for Great Britain at the 2009 FINA World Championships in Rome, Italy. But Spofforth's World Title is just the tip of the iceberg. Under Troy, Spofforth defended her 100 & 200-yard backstroke races in 2009, becoming just the fourth NCAA swimmer to win the 200 back three consecutive years. Under Troy's watch, Spofforth, the 2009 SEC Swimmer of the Year, shattered the NCAA record in the 200 back at the 2009 SEC meet, becoming only the second swimmer to ever break the 1:50.00 mark in the event when she swam to a 1:48.34. Spofforth also holds British Commonwealth Records in the 50, 100 and 200-meter backstroke races, as well as the 100-meter back European Record. The Gators stamped their 17^th SEC Championship team title in 2009 in Auburn, Ala., with the help of Spofforth, a tribute to Troy's talent and expectations of excellence at the head of the Gator program.

Additionally, Troy tutored 2009 NCAA Champions Bradley Ally and Shaune Fraser, who collectively won three individual national titles, the most since 2006 when Gator great Ryan Lochte picked up three, bringing Florida's all-time national championship count to 35 titles. Collectively the men's and women's squads brought back 71 All-America honors home to Gainesville after the 2009 season.

Troy's success is thriving at Florida, but it's no different than the mark he made his first season. Troy came to Florida in 1998 as the women's head coach and promptly led the Gators to an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships – an improvement of seven spots from the previous season. A year later, he became the third coach in UF history to take the reins both teams when he was named the head coach of the men's squad.

In his inaugural season as men's head coach, the Bellefonte, Pa., native guided the Gators to a ninth-place showing at NCAAs and a runner-up finish at the SEC Championships. For his efforts, Troy was named the 2000 SEC Men's Coach of the Year.

Both teams made remarkable strides the following season, as the women jumped 11 places from 19th at NCAAs in 2000 to an eighth-place spot in 2001. The men also showed improvement, from ninth place the year before to eighth that season, at the national championships.

The case was the same in 2001-02 as both teams made progress at the conference and national levels. The women's team captured the SEC Championship and finished seventh at NCAAs. The men placed second at SECs for the second-straight season, and, like the women, showed improvement at NCAAs with a fourth-place finish – the highest for the Gators since a third-place showing in 1991. In addition to taking home the high finishes, Troy captured the 2002 NCAA Men's Coach of the Year and SEC Men's Coach of the Year awards. He also received the Knoxville Sentinel's 2002 SEC Men's and Women's Coach of the Year awards.

In 2002-03, both squads continued to make progress under the tutelage of Troy and his staff. The women improved yet again at the national level by placing fifth at NCAAs after a runner-up finish at the SEC Championships. The men took home second at the SEC meet for the third-consecutive season and followed that up with a sixth-place showing at NCAAs.

In 2003-04, Troy led the women's team to a fourth-place finish at NCAAs, the best finish during his tenure. The women's team finished third at SECs, marking the fifth-consecutive year UF had placed in the top three at the league championships, and the Florida women did not drop out of the top five of the College Swimming Coaches Association (CSCAA) national poll for the second-consecutive year. On the men's side, the Gators finished second at the SEC Championships, the fifth-straight top-three finish at SECs, and placed sixth at the NCAA Championships. One of the highlights of the season was Ryan Lochte winning the 26th NCAA title in UF history when he broke the U.S. Open, American and NCAA record in the 400-meter IM. At the end of the season, Troy was rewarded for the Gators' success with his second NCAA Men's Coach of the Year Award.

In 2004-05, Troy led both teams to top-five finishes at the NCAAs, as the women placed fourth and the men secured the fifth spot. For the women it was the 22nd time in Florida history that they finished in the top-five. Both teams also had success outside of the pool, claiming a combined 30 SEC Academic Honor Roll selections during the season.

Troy piloted the Gator men to a fifth-place finish for a second-consecutive season in 2005-06, while Lochte, one of Troy's finest protégés, became the all-time Florida leader in individual NCAA Championships with seven titles. The women finished in the top-10 for a sixth-consecutive season under Troy's direction.

The 2006-07 season was another banner campaign for both Troy and the Gators, as both squads finished in the top-10 at the NCAA Championships. The UF men earned 45 All-America honors en route to a fourth-place finish – their highest in five years – at the NCAA meet. Three Gator men's swimmers also combined to win six individual SEC titles and Florida won the 800 FR at the conference meet for the sixth year in a row, and Troy garnered SEC Men's Coach of the Year honors for Troy.

Florida's women were not left out of the title chase in 2006-07, as Troy guided freshman Gemma Spofforth to NCAA crown in the 200 back and junior Caroline Burckle to the conference championship in the 100 breast. Spofforth's performance marked the first individual national championship for a member of the UF women's team since 1995, and the squad's first backstroke victory in 17 years.

Spofforth returned a year later and under Troy's direction, became the first Gator woman since the 1993-94 season to win both the 100 and 200 backstroke events at the SEC and NCAA Championships in the same year. Burckle added to the trophy haul at the NCAA Championships, winning both the 200 and 500 freestyle events. The senior also set a new NCAA record in the 500 free, eclipsing Janet Evans' 20-year record.

Named the 2008 SEC Women's Swimming Coach of the Year, Troy has overseen the development of Burckle, who upon graduation will be added to list as one of the best female swimmers Florida has ever seen. Burckle came away from her four year career with five school records and two second place standings. For her accomplishments in the water she was named the 2008 NCAA Swimmer of the year and collected the Honda Sports Award for Swimming and Diving. Burckle additionally rallied at the 2008 Olympic Trials in Omaha, swimming a lifetime best 200-meter free time to make her first-ever Olympic Games. In Beijing and under Troy's watch, she swam one of the four 200-meter free legs in the women's 800-meter free relay that claimed a bronze medal.

The Gator men countered in 2008 with five SEC titles of their own. Clark Burckle collected two of the five, winning the 400 IM and 200 breast while also setting the school record in the 100 breast. Shaune Fraser picked up his second straight SEC Championship in the 200 free, defending his title in pool record time. Bradley Ally picked up the win in the 200 IM in pool record time while Omar Pinzon led a Gator sweep in the 200 back with the fifth fastest time in school history. The men would go on to finish eighth at the NCAA Championships, picking up a total of 38 All-American honors.

Troy has also found success in international competition as the head coach of several teams, including his honor as an assistant coach of the men's United States Olympic Team in Beijing. Troy additionally served as head coach of the Thailand Olympic team in the 1992 games in Barcelona. Active Gator Olympians that are presently under Troy's tutelage include Sarah Bateman, Jose Crescimbeni, Rodion Davelaar, Brett Fraser, Shaune Frazer, Balacz Gercsak, Jemma Lowe, Omar Pinzon, Anna-Liisa Pold, Roland Rudolf and Gemma Spofforth.

Under Troy's watchful eye, Lochte developed into a force on the international level. He broke fellow American Aaron Peirsol's two-year winning streak in the 200-meter back with a world-record performance at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia, winning his first individual world title in a long-course meters setting. He won five medals (three gold, one silver and one bronze) and set four world records at the 2006 FINA Short Course Championships in Beijing, China, just 10 days after competing at the NCAA Championships. In 2004, Lochte captured a gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in the 800 FR with an American-record time of 7:07.33, and won a silver medal in the 200-meter IM in a University of Florida-record time of 1:58.78, which ranks third-fastest all-time in the history of the event.

Troy was on deck in Melbourne as an assistant coach with the U.S. Men's World Championships Team when Lochte claimed his world record. He has also served as the head coach for the U.S. Team at the World Championships in 2001; head coach of the U.S. Team for the Pan American Games in 1999; assistant coach for the 2004 U.S. Women's FINA World Short Course Championships; assistant coach for the U.S. Women's Team at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and the head coach for the U.S. Pan American Team in 1995. His accomplishments on the international level led him to being named the 1997 U.S. Olympic & United States Swimming Development Coach of the Year. The award is one of several that Troy has received from the U.S. Swimming Coaches' Achievement program.

Before Troy racked up success at the collegiate and international levels, he enjoyed a scintillating career at the prep level for The Bolles School in Jacksonville , Fla. For 20 years, he led the school's program and its affiliated club program.

During his tenure, Bolles claimed several national high school team championships. At the state level, his teams won 15 boys' Florida State Championships (including 10 consecutive) and 11 girls' state titles (including nine consecutive).

Troy earned his bachelor's degree in history/government from Texas Christian University in 1972. In 1987, he earned his master's in history education from Jacksonville University. Troy and his wife, Kathleen, have three sons: Patrick (24), a former UF Track & Field athlete who earned his undergraduate degree in English from Florida in 2009; Geoffrey (22), a four-year football player at the Merchant Marine Academy who graduated in 2009 and recently accepted a United States Marine Flight Commission; and Ryan (20), a current decathlete on the 2009-10 Gator Track & Field team.

The Gregg Troy File

Birthdate: Dec. 19, 1950

Hometown: Bellefonte, Pa.

Education: Bachelor's in History/Government, Texas Christian University, 1972; Master's in History Education, Jacksonville University, 1987.

Coaching Career

Head coach, The Bolles School, 1977-97
Head coach, Thailand Olympic Team, 1992
U.S. Pan American Team Head Coach, 1995
Assistant coach, Women's U.S. Olympic Team, 1996
Head coach, Women's U.S. World Championships Team, 1998
Head coach, U.S. Men's Team for the Pan American Games, 1999
Head coach, U.S. World Championships Team, 2001
Head coach, University of Florida women's team, 1998-present
Assistant Coach, Men's U.S. World Championships Team, 2007
Assistant Coach, Men's U.S. Olympic Team, 2008
Head coach, University of Florida men's team, 1999-present

Career Highlights

2008 Assistant U.S. Men's Olympic Coach
2007 SEC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year
2004 U.S. Women's Asst. Coach for FINA World Short Course Championships
2004 NCAA Men's Swimming Coach of the Year
2002 NCAA Men's Swimming Coach of the Year
2002 SEC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year
2001 Men's Head Coach at World Championships
2000 SEC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year
1999 U.S. Men's Head Coach for Pan American Games
1998 U.S. Women's Head Coach for World Championships
1996 U.S. Women's Olympic Assistant Coach
1995 U.S. Pan American Team Head Coach
1997 U.S. Olympic & United States Swimming Developmental Coach of the Year
1992 Thailand Olympic Head Coach
Coached 68 Olympians
1980 Olympics - one athlete (while at The Bolles School)
1988 Olympics - three athletes (while at The Bolles School)
1992 Olympics - 10 athletes (while at The Bolles School)
1996 Olympics - 20 athletes (while at The Bolles School)
2000 Olympics - five athletes (while at Florida)
2004 Olympics - 10 athletes (while at Florida)
2008 Olympics - 19 athletes (while at Florida)
Coached over 200 All-America swimmers
Coached his athletes to over 150 National Records (U.S. and International)
Won 15 boys' Florida State Championships (last 10 consecutive)
Won 11 girls' Florida State Championships (last nine consecutive)