Oct. 6, 2008
IOWA CITY, IA — Hawkeye Diving Coach Bob Rydze has been elected chairman of the U.S. Diving Board of Directors. He will serve in that capacity for the next four years. Rydze is in his 34th year as diving coach for the University of Iowa men and women’s squad.
“I am grateful to our membership for electing me to this position,” said Rydze. “I am looking forward to making U.S. Diving the best organization that it can be. I am also looking forward to working with our new high performance director – Steve Foley – in our efforts to win Olympic medals at the 2012 games in London.”
Rydze recently served as U.S. Diving Team Leader for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. It was his second stint in that capacity, as he also coached the squad at the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea. He also was named chairman of U.S. Diving’s Competition Committee for Excellence (CCE) in 2006. During his tenure at Iowa, Rydze has coached three Olympians, 31 all-Americans, nine Big Ten Champions and one NCAA Champion. He has been named Big Ten Diving Coach of the Year three times (1985, 1986 and 1995). He and his wife, Elaine, have three children, Bo, Robin and Veronica. Veronica is a sophomore diver on the Hawkeye team.