The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Swimming and Diving
- Title:
- Head Coach, Diving
- Two-time USOC National Diving Coach of the Year (2009, 2010)
- 2012 USA Diving Olympics Additional and Personal Coach
- Coached Longhorns divers to 20 NCAA individual titles
- Assistant coach for the United States at the 2011, 2013 and 2022 FINA World Championship meets
- Head coach for the United States at the 2014 FINA Diving World Cup
- Four-time CSCAA Women's Diving Coach of the Year (1997, 1998, 1999, 2024 (co))
- Six-time CSCAA Men's Diving Coach of the Year (1999, 2000, 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2021)
- 18-time Big 12 Men's Diving Coach of the Year
- 15-time Big 12 Women's Diving Coach of the Year
- Has swept the Big 12 Men's and Women's Diving Coach of the Year accolades 13 times
Now in his 30th season (2021-24) as Texas head diving coach, Matt Scoggin has established Texas as one of the nation's premier diving programs. A former U.S. Olympic diver and a 2000, 2008 and 2020 USA Olympic diving coach, Scoggin has been recognized nationally for his outstanding efforts. In 2009 and 2010, Scoggin was selected as the United States Olympic Committee's National Diving Coach of the Year.
As director of the Longhorns’ men’s and women’s diving program, Scoggin’s divers have claimed 23 individual NCAA championships and 114 individual Big 12 titles, while also producing a four-time Big 12 Conference Men's Diver of the Year, three-time Big 12 Conference Women’s Diver of the Year, three SWC champions and a two-time SWC Diver of the Year.
He has 16 Men’s 1M Big 12 Champions, 18 Men’s 3M Big 12 Champions, and 20 Men’s Platform Big 12 Champions. He has earned 18 Big 12 Diving Coach of the Year honors and 16 Diving Coach of the Big 12 Championship meet honors. He has also coached 12 Big 12 Divers of the Year. On the women’s side, there have been 21 1M Champions, 19 3M champions and 21 Platform champions at the Big 12 Championships. Twenty Texas women’s divers were named Diver of the Meet at the Big 12 Championships. He has been named the Big 12 Conference Diving Coach of the Year 15 times and collected Big 12 Championship Diving Coach of the Meet honors 18 times.
Scoggin earned a share of the CSCAA Division I Women's Diving Coach of the Year honors after Texas women's divers earned a combined 77 team points at the 2024 NCAA Championships to finish as the top diving team at the meet. Hailey Hernandez won silver on 1-meter and bronze on 3-meter, while Jordan Skilken was the bronze medalist on platform. Bridget O'Neil added a pair of fifth-place performances on 1-meter and 3-meter, as Texas divers combined to earn five individual All-American honors. At the NCAA Zone Diving Championships, Hernandez took first on 1-meter with O'Neil placing second. Skilken was the high scorer on platform and O'Neil won silver on 3-meter. The Big 12 Championship saw the trio of Hernandez, Skilken and O'Neil earn Texas the first-ever Big 12 Team Diving title. Hernandez collected Diver of the Meet honors after winning on 1-meter and placing fourth on 3-meter, while Skilken won the title on platform. Scoggin was also named the men's diving coach of the year, sweeping the Big 12 Men's and Women's Diving Coach of the Year accolades for 13th time in his career. On the men's side, six Texas divers qualified for the National Championship meet, with Noah Duperre scoring points in all three events at the national meet, while Nick Harris scored on both springboards and Tanner Braunton on platform. Texas swept the event titles at the Big 12 Championships, highlighted by Braunton, Duperre and Harris claiming the first-ever Team Diving crown. Brendan McCourt captured the 1-meter victory, Duperre won on 3-meter and Braunton took first on platform. Duperre was named Diver of the Meet and Braunton the Diving Newcomer of the Meet. Hernandez and Harris earned Big 12 Diver of the Year accolades.
The 2023 campaign Texas qualify three divers qualify for the nmen's ational championships for a combined seven events. All three divers (Noah Duperre, Nick Harris, Brendan McCourt) reached championship or consolation finals in each of the seven events they competed in with Harris finishing seventh on 1-meter and Duperre eighth on 3-meter. Duperre added Honorable Mention All-American honors on 1-meter and platform, Harris on 3-meter and McCourt on 1-meter and 3-meter. Texas Diving totaled 44 points at the national meet, the third-most of any team in the competition. At the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships, Harris won on 1-meter and Duperre won on 3-meter. Texas Diving won two of three events at the Big 12 Championships, with Duperre claiming the platform title and Harris winning on 3-meter. Duperre was named the Big 12 Diver of the Year and Harris was selected the conference Newcomer of the Year. For the women, Texas qualified four divers for the NCAA Championships for a combined 10 events. The Longhorns finished second in scoring among divers with 44 points, three behind Arizona. Hailey Hernandez (4th) earned All-American honors on 1-meter and Jordan Skilken was an All-American on platform (6th), while Hernandez (3-meter), Bridget O’Neil (1-meter) and Sarah Carruthers (platform) each earned Honorable Mention All-American accolades. At the NCAA Zone D Diving Championships, Hernandez won on 1-meter and O’Neil placed third, while Jordan Skilken took second on platform. Hernandez won the Big 12 title on 1-meter with a meet record 367.70 points, Bridget O’Neil won the conference championship on 3-meter and Janie Boyle on platform. Texas swept the top-five spots on 3-meter and went 1-2-3 on platform. Hernandez was named the Diver of the Meet and freshman Carruthers was tabbed the Diving Newcomer of the Meet. Hernandez was also tabbed the Big 12 Diver of the Year for the second year in a row.
In 2022, Scoggin swept the Big 12 Men's and Women's Diving Coach of the Year accolades for the seventh consecutive year and 12th time in his career. That season he guided Hailey Hernandez and Andrew Harness to Diver of the Year accolades. At the NCAA Women's Championships, Texas divers scored 90 points, topping Indiana's diving total of 84 points to finish as the number one diving team in the meet. UT's combined men's and women's divers collected five top-eight finishes at the NCAA Championships and contributed a combined 101 points to the team standings.
At the 2021 NCAA Men's Championships, Jordan Windle won the 2021 1-meter crown, his second national title after previously winning on the platform in 2019. Also winning in 2019 was Murphy Bromberg, who brought home the women's championship on the platform.
In 2009, USA Diving bestowed upon Scoggin the Benjamin Foundation Coaches Performance Award and The Ted Keller Award. In the summer of 2010, Scoggin won USA Diving's Coach of Excellence Award at the USA Diving National Championships. Later in 2010, he was selected as a coach for Team USA at the FINA World Cup. Scoggin has been selected as a men's or women's NCAA Coach of the Year six times and is a 12-time Big 12 Conference Diving Coach of the Year.
The Longhorns' diving program has set the standard of diving excellence for national and international competitions alike. Former Longhorn Laura Wilkinson, a three-time Olympian, earned a gold medal on the 10-meter platform at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and placed fifth at the Athens Games in 2004. She also claimed a gold medal on the 10-meter platform at the 2005 World Championships. She captured gold medals in the 10-meter platform and the women's synchronized platform at the 2005 Speedo National Diving Championships.
Texas-Ex Vera Ilyina (who competed for Russia) also excelled on the international level, winning the gold medal on the three-meter synchronized springboard at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and capturing the silver in that event at the Athens Games in 2004. Additionally, Texas-Exes Troy and Justin Dumais won bronze in the 3-meter synchro at the 2005 World Championships. Troy won silver and bronze medals at the 2006 FINA World Diving Cup in China and has represented the United States at the last four Olympiads.
Scoggin's divers excelled once again for the Longhorns last season. Former Longhorn Maren Taylor finished off a sterling collegiate career and posted NCAA runner-up finishes on the one-meter and three-meter boards at the 2014 NCAA Championships, while current UT senior Emma Ivory-Ganja finished as the NCAA runner-up on platform. Michael Hixon won the 2014 NCAA titles on one-meter and three-meter under Scoggin's tutelage, and Cory Bowersox added another All-America showing on one-meter.
During the 2011-12 campaign, Scoggin coached senior Drew Livingston to a NCAA Championship on the 1-meter board as well as All-American performances in the 3-meter and platform and an All-American performance by Matt Cooper in the platform as well. Scoggin was chosen as the CSCAA Diving Coach of the Year after Livingston was chosen as the NCAA Diver of the Meet. On the women's side both Shelby Cullinan and Diana Wilcox competed at the NCAA Championships. Livingston also won Big 12 Championships in the 1-meter and platform competitions to earn Big 12 Diver of the Year while Scoggin was selected Big 12 Diving Coach of the Year.
Texas diving put together a tremendous year in 2010. Maren Taylor scored points on all three boards for the UT women at the 2010 NCAA Championships. On the men's side, Drew Livingston and Matt Cooper played vital roles in UT's run to the 2010 NCAA team title. Cooper and Livingston placed third and seventh, respectively, in the platform event to help Texas pull away from California in the team standings. Livingston opened the 2010 NCAA Championships with a third-place finish in the one-meter event, while Cooper won the event's consolation final. Cooper added one point to the Texas tally with a 16th-place showing in the three-meter event. Cooper and Livingston won one title apiece at the 2010 Big 12 Championships.
Scoggin's men's and women's diving corps accumulated a bundle of points at the 2009 NCAA Championships. Jessica Livingston and Shelby Cullinan placed second and third, respectively, in the platform event. Livingston added a fourth-place finish in the three-meter event, and Cullinan went on to place sixth. Kathryn Kelly placed sixth overall in the one-meter event. Drew Livingston captured the NCAA men's one-meter title before taking second on the platform and 14th in the three-meter event. Jonathan Wilcox added a fifth-place finish in the one-meter event.
Scoggin's men's and women's diving corps excelled at the 2008 NCAA Championships. Kathryn Kelly placed third in the three-meter event and fourth in the one-meter, and Mary Yarrison took second in the one-meter event and ninth in the three-meter event with a score that would have won the competition had she reached the finals. Matt Cooper placed sixth on the platform, while Jonathan Wilcox took seventh and earned All-America honors in the three-meter event and added an honorable mention All-America showing in the one-meter event.
At the 2007 NCAA Championship, one male diver and four female divers earned All-America honors under Scoggin's tutelage. Mike Wong garnered honorable mention All-America honors on the platform, while Jessica Livingston claimed the NCAA platform title and added a third-place finish in the three-meter event.
Mary Yarrison earned All-America honors by placing seventh on the three-meter. Kathryn Kelly placed eighth in the one-meter event to earn All-America honors, while Kara-Jayne Salamone tallied honorable mention All-America honors on the platform.
At the NCAA Championship in 2004, Scoggin steered Nicole Pohorenec to the platform title, earning the first national championship of her career. Pohorenec, who earned All-America and All-America Honorable Mention accolades as a freshman and sophomore, respectively, became the fourth diver under Scoggin's tutelage to capture an NCAA individual championship.
In 2004 alone, the Longhorns men and women's teams combined to win three of the six events at the Big 12 Conference Championships. The women's squad was victorious on the platform, while the men's team posted first-place finishes on the three-meter and the platform. In addition, Jonathan Linette was the Big 12 Male Diver of the Year for the second-straight year.
Ilyina was a two-time NCAA Diver of the Year, who was named the 1997-98 Big 12 Female Athlete of the Year as well as the 1998 NCAA Woman of the Year for the state of Texas. Ilyina also was selected as a recipient of the prestigious 1998 NCAA Today's Top Eight Award, which honors eight distinguished student-athletes from the preceding calendar year for achievement in athletics, academics and leadership. In addition to coaching such Longhorn greats, Scoggin was named Head Coach of the 2001 U.S. World Championships Team.
Scoggin, a veteran Longhorn who competed for Texas from 1981-85 where he won a pair of NCAA titles on the 1-meter (1983-84), has succeeded at every level of the sport. He had a long career as a member of the US National Team from 1980-82 and 1984-92. In 1987, he won silver on his specialty, the 10-meter platform, at the Pan American Games and won a platform bronze at the 1990 Goodwill Games. He was the US Olympic Festival Champion for three consecutive years (1989-91), and was US Champion at both indoors and outdoors in 1989, winning outdoors again in 1990. He was also a two-time winner on the platform at the HTH Classic in 1989-90. His world-class diving career came to a close at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where he reached the final and placed 10th on the platform. Perhaps even more telling of his world-class success was his selection as team captain at those Olympic Games and the recognition he received by the U.S. Olympic Committee when they voted him 1992 Athlete of the Year for diving.
Two of the key traits that helped Scoggin reach the world-level ranks of success are his intense dedication to the sport and a keen technical eye. As a coach, he continues where he left off as an athlete. Scoggin, a native of Great Falls, Va., began his coaching career in 1986 as an assistant coach for the Longhorn Diving Club. In 1993 Scoggin became head coach for the Texas Diving Club and in less than a year, two of his junior divers claimed state diving titles. In 1994, Scoggin returned to The University of Texas, taking over the program he helped establish as a national power.
Scoggin is married to former Texas diver Becca Culver. They have one daughter, Grace.
