Year of Service: 21st
Hometown: Indiana, PA
Education: BS, Education;
MS, Sports Science ’91
The 2009-2010 season will mark the 21st year that Brian Bishop has coached the Lion men’s swimming program. In addition to coaching at TCNJ, Bishop also serves as the Associate Director of Athletics.
Bishop has successfully guided swimmers to the NCAA Championships in each of the last 19 seasons producing two NCAA Division III National Champions, (Matt Stoll in 1994 and Steve Swenson in 2006) and a total of 45 student-athletes earn 113 All-America awards. TCNJ’s men’s swimmer have placed in the top 20 fifteen times at the NCAA’s, including ten times in the top 15. In 2008 and 2009, the team earned its highest finish at the NCAA’s by finishing in seventh place.
The Lions have had equal success in the classroom as well, earning 31 CSCAA All-Academic Team Honors, nine individual CSCAA All-Academic Honors and one CoSIDA Academic All-American (Andrew Girman in 2000).
TCNJ’s men have also dominated the METRO Conference Championships by winning 12 of the last 17 titles including nine in a row from 1994-2002. They earned their 12th title and repeated as Met Champions for the third consecutive year in 2009 after finishing second from 2003 to 2006. The Lions have held eight different conference records and are current record holders in two events (200 Breast and 400 Free Relay). The Lions have also had tremendous success in dual meets posting a 168-39 record, including three undefeated seasons (1993-1994, 1994-1995, and 1996-1997).
Bishop has produced one Olympic Swimmer (Davy Bisslik in 2004), who competed in the 100 fly in Athens, Greece. In addition, Bishop served as the coach for Aruba in a 2004 World Cup meet in Stockholm, Sweden and has served as an advisor to the Aruba Olympic Committee. Bishop also served as the president of the METRO Swimming Conference for six years.
Coach Bishop has been honored with several coaching and service awards, including the 1994 Roy Van Ness Award. This award is given annually to a TCNJ Coach for outstanding success and leadership as voted by TCNJ’s Athletic Department. He was also named the NJAC Coach of the Year in 1990, 1994, and this past year in 2009 as well as the METRO Coach of the year in 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. In 1989 he received a service award from AAHPERD and in 2001 he received a service award from the NJSIAA. In addition to a BS in Education, Bishop earned an MS in Sport Science from IUP. He and his wife, Susan, currently reside in Langhorne, PA with their sons, Connor (15) and Bryce (11).
Bishop’s Year-by-Year Record
Year Overall Pct. Postseason
1989–90 4-5 .444
1990–91 9-3 .750 4th at METs
1991–92 10-3 .769 4th at METs
1992–93 10-1 .909 26th at NCAAs, 3rd at METs
1993–94 10-0 1.000 11th at NCAAs, MET Champions
1994–95 9-0 1.000 22nd at NCAAs, MET Champions
1995–96 7-2 .778 16th at NCAAs, MET Champions
1996–97 10-0 1.000 16th at NCAAs, MET Champions
1997–98 10-1 .909 11th at NCAAs, MET Champions
1998–99 10-1 .909 17th at NCAAs, MET Champions
1999–2000 9-1 .900 15th at NCAAs, MET Champions
2000–01 10-1 .909 15th at NCAAs, MET Champions
2001–02 7-2 .778 18th at NCAAs, MET Champions
2002–03 9-4 .692 8th at NCAAs, MET Runners-up
2003-04 7-3 .700 14th at NCAAs, MET Runners-up
2004-05 7-3 .700 14th at NCAAs, MET Runners-Up
2005-06 7-2 .778 12th at NCAAs, MET Runners-Up
2006-07 6-3 .667 16th at NCAAs, MET Champions
2007-08 7-3 .700 7th at NCAAs, MET Champions
2008-09 10-1 .909 7th at NCAAs, MET Champions
Totals 168-39 .812 12 MET Titles
