Rick Kobe - Swimming & Diving Coach - East Carolina University Athletics

Rick Kobe

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
kober@ecu.edu
Phone:
(252) 328-4608

For more than three decades, Rick Kobe was responsible for making East Carolina swimming and diving one of the winningest programs in the country. After serving two years as an assistant coach for the Pirates, Kobe was elevated to head coach in 1982 and remained in that role until his retirement at the conclusion of the 2016-17 campaign. During his tenure, Kobe won 539 dual meets and finished his coaching career ranked fourth all-time on the NCAA Division I list for men’s and women’s combined victories.

During his time at ECU, Kobe helped the Pirates set 363 varsity records and capture 173 individual/event conference titles. He coached four NCAA All-Americans, one Olympic participant and 245 all-conference performers. Over 100 of his athletes made their NCAA ‘A’ or ‘B” cut and participated in seven NCAA Division I Championship meets.

Kobe enjoyed a pair of milestones in 2014 as he became just the sixth coach in NCAA history to amass 500 dual meet victories and the first women's coach to lead ECU to an undefeated season as the ladies posted a perfect 11-0 record. It's just the second undefeated season among active athletic programs in East Carolina history (the 1941 football team finished 7-0).

THE RICK KOBE FILE
Birthday	Sept. 27
College	Fairmont State (W.Va.), 1976 (B.S.)
High School	Windsor (Vt.), 1972
Family	wife: Courtney children: Suzanne, Catherine, Lindsay, Tyler, Holton
COACHING EXPERIENCE
Year	School, Position
1982-present	East Carolina University, head coach
1980-82	East Carolina University, assistant coach
1978-80	Raleigh Swim Association, head coach
1976-80	West Virginia University, assistant coach
CHAMPIONSHIPS WON
Year	Championship
1986	Men's CAA Champions
1989	Men's CAA Champions
1995	Women's CAA Champions
1996	Women's CAA Champions
1997	Women's CAA Champions
2000	Women's CAA Champions
2001	Women's ECAC Champions
2003	Women's Conference USA Champions
2015	Men's American Athletic Conference Champions
2016	Men's American Athletic Conference Champions
2017	Men's American Athletic Conference Champions
AWARDS
Year	Award
1988	CAA Men's Coach-of-the-Year
1989	CAA Men's Coach-of-the-Year
1994	CAA Men's and Women's Coach-of-the-Year
1995	CAA Women's Coach-of-the-Year
2000	CAA Women's Coach-of-the-Year
2001	ECAC Women's Coach-of-the-Year
2003	Conference USA Women's Coach-of-the-Year
2015	The American Men's Coach-of-the-Year
2016	The American Men's Coach-of-the-Year
2017	The American Men's Coach-of-the-Year
HEAD COACHING RECORD
Total	35 Seasons	539-191-1 (.738)
Men		245-104-1 (.702)
Women		294-87 (.771)

Kobe was named conference Coach-of-the-Year for the 11th time in his illustrious career in 2016-17 after leading the ECU men's squad to its third straight American Athletic Conference title.

East Carolina collected 11 conference team championships under his leadership.

His teams were one of the top academic squads in the country, consistently earning Scholar All-America Team accolades awarded by the College Swim Coaches Association (CSCAA). The ladies team posted the highest team GPA in nation following 2013 spring semester.

Kobe also tutored some of the top academic performers at ECU. Marc Cook (1991, ‘92) and Geoff Handsfield (2007, ‘08) were both two-time Academic All-America selections, while Andrew Stoker received the dubious honor during the 2010-11 season.

Two of his former swimmers: Meredith Bridgers and Diane Parker were elected into the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Kobe served as an assistant coach for the Pirates from 1980-82 before taking over the men and women’s swimming programs prior to the 1982-83 season. After one season, Kobe’s workout regiment and recruiting abilities began to pay off as the men’s team finished with an 8-4 dual meet record, and the women’s program came away in even better fashion, sporting a 9-4 record.

From there, Kobe has taken the swimming program to a level unsurpassed in Pirate history. Through his team’s successes, Kobe has become the winningest coach in Pirate athletics’ history. His .738 winning percentage is the best of any Pirate coach with at least five years at ECU since the school became a Division I institution in the mid 1960s. Overall, Kobe’s teams have combined for a 539-191-1 record in 35 years.

The Pirate men's swimming and diving team posted a dual meet record of .500 or better in each of Kobe's final 34 years, while the women's team recorded 26 consecutive winning dual meet meet campaigns.

For his accomplishments, Kobe was elected to the Windsor (Vt.) High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.

Just the fourth coach in the rich history of ECU swimming and diving; Kobe began his coaching career at West Virginia University where he was an assistant from 1976-78. Beginning in 1978, he coached the Raleigh Swim Association and then, in 1980, came to ECU as an assistant coach under Ray Scharf. Kobe then took over the top spot in the Pirates’ program on March 15, 1982.

Fourteen of Kobe’s former assistant coaches have moved on to become head coaches at other schools.

A native of Windsor, Vt., Kobe swam competitively for Fairmont State (W.Va.) College, serving as team captain during his senior season. He earned a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education in 1976 and obtained his master’s degree in the same field from West Virginia in 1978.

Kobe was one of the youngest coaches ever to receive the prestigious Master’s Coach Award presented by the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America.

Kobe has two daughters: Suzanne and Catherine. He is married to the former Courtney Holton Welch and has three stepdaughters: Lindsay, Tyler, and Holton.