The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
CSCAA Honors Eddie Reese with Lifetime Achievement Award
01.20.2026 | Men's Swimming and Diving
Eddie Reese will become the 17th recipient to receive the CSCAA Lifetime Achievement Award.
AUSTIN, Texas – The College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) named Eddie Reese the recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday afternoon, one of the organization's most prestigious distinctions. Selected by the CSCAA Executive Board, Reese was honored for a career that reshaped collegiate swimming and diving and produced an enduring legacy before his retirement in 2024.
Reese, a Florida native and former standout swimmer at the University of Florida, devoted his career to the sport of swimming as both a student-athlete and coach. Hired by Texas in 1978 by Darrell K Royal, Reese went on to build one of the most successful and respected programs in collegiate swimming and diving history.
Under Reese's leadership, Texas captured 15 NCAA Division I men's swimming and diving national championships and more than 40 conference titles. He claimed his first NCAA Championship in 1981 and became the only swimming coach to win NCAA team titles in five separate decades (1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s). His 15 National Championships are tied for the seventh-most by any coach, in any sport, in NCAA history. Reese's Longhorns also won 75 NCAA individual titles and 55 relay crowns through the completion of the 2022-23 season.
An eight-time NCAA Coach of the Year, four-time College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) National Coach of the Year and four-time American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Coach of the Year, Reese coached hundreds of All-Americans and mentored more than 40 Olympians who combined to earn over 50 Olympic medals, including multiple gold medals. The program's outdoor pool facility, located adjacent to the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center, opened in August 2020 and was named in his honor.
Prior to arriving in Austin, Reese completed a six-year rebuilding effort at Auburn from 1972 to 1978, leading the Tigers to four-consecutive Top-10 finishes, including a second-place showing in 1978. A 1963 graduate of Florida, Reese helped lead the Gators to three SEC titles (1961, 1962 and 1963) and became the first swimmer in program history to win five SEC titles in a career. He remained at Florida as a graduate assistant coach while earning his master's degree before serving as a high school teacher and coach at Roswell High School in New Mexico from 1965 -66 and later returning to Florida as an assistant coach from 1967-72.
The CSCAA Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes individuals whose careers reflect sustained excellence, leadership, and a profound commitment to advancing collegiate swimming and diving. Reese's body of work as a coach, mentor, and steward of the sport embodies those values in every respect.
Reese will be formally recognized on May 4 in Chicago as part of the CSCAA Awards Celebration, where the association will honor a distinguished class of individuals whose contributions have shaped the past, present, and future of collegiate swimming and diving.
