NEW PALTZ - State University of New York at New Paltz Athletic Director, Stuart Robinson, announced the hiring of Scott Whitbeck as the Head Swim Coach. Whitbeck comes to SUNY New Paltz after two years as an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts.
“We are extremely delighted that Scott will be joining our staff,” stated Robinson. “His accomplishments as a swimmer and his experiences at UMass and Wooster, in addition to the Michigan swim camps, distinguished him from a talented pool of candidates. He has a lot of offer with his understanding of the ongoing developments within the sport and his view of where our programs are and want to be.”
In two years at NCAA Division I UMass, Whitbeck assisted the Minutemen with all aspects of running a perennially successful Atlantic 10 program including training, stroke technique, recruiting and meet preparation. The men's team won the Atlantic 10 championship both seasons while the women finished second and fourth. Twelve varsity records were set during his two seasons as an assistant.
"I am honored that the Department of Athletics and Stuart Robinson have given me this opportunity to work with the swim program," Whitbeck said. “I am thrilled to take the skills that I have learned over the past few years and work with the SUNY New Paltz athletes in maintaining a level of success, while striving to take it to the next level.”
Prior to UMASS, Whitbeck served as the assistant coach/aquatics director at the College of Wooster for two seasons where he coached the 2005 NCAA Champion in the 1650 Free. In addition, he spearheaded the recruitment of fifty athletes to the program, maintained the aquatic facility, and directed a triathlon. Whitbeck has worked three summers as a swim counselor at the University of Michigan Swim Camps and assisted the NCAA Div. III meet director in running the NCAA Swim Championships in 2005, 2006 and most recently in 2008.
Whitbeck spent four seasons on the varsity swim team at Kalamazoo College where he was a 12-time NCAA All-American, three-time NCAA Academic All-American, named team captain, and elected as the team's Most Valuable Swimmer in 2004. In addition to swimming, he also earned an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship and a Charles Monroe departmental award in Economics. Since graduation, Whitbeck has stayed active in swimming through US Masters, winning two open water National Championships and currently holds the 3000 yard freestyle national record.
Whitbeck received a bachelor's degree from Kalamazoo in 2004 and completed two master degree programs; one in Business Administration and the other in Sports Management, at UMASS in 2008.
