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BRIAN
McLAUGHLIN
Head Coach
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18th Season - Central Connecticut, 1981 |
Overall Record - 201-205 (.495) |
Men - 95-94 (.502) / Women's - 106-111 (.488) |
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Brian McLaughlin begins his 18th season at the helm of the Montclair State men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams. One of the most successful coaches in the history of the program, has built a program that year-in and year-out has been one of the top teams on the regional level.
Last season, McLaughlin, who also serves as an Assistant Athletic Director, put together another solid season as the men’s team registered an 9-4 mark while the MSU women’s squad finished the season at 8-4.
McLaughlin arrived in 1989 and was handed the responsibility of trying to turn around a once proud swimming and diving program that had fallen on some hard times. The year prior to his arrival, Montclair’s women’s team was winless and the men’s squad was slightly better at 3-7.
However, McLaughlin quickly began turning things around and in his first four years, he led Montclair State to 44 combined victories. During that time five swimmers qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships and three of them were named All-Americans. In 1993, McLaughlin was rewarded for his efforts by being named the Metropolitan Swiming and Diving Conference Coach of the Year.
Over the next few seasons, the Red Hawks remained a solid contender year-in and year out in the Metropolitan Conference. In 1995, McLaughlin guided the women’s team to its first-ever Metropolitan Conference Swimming championship. The women’s team would duplicate the success the following season while the men’s team moved above the .500 mark with a 5-4 campaign. Six members of the MSU squad were named to the All-Conference Team.
McLAUGHLIN
YEAR-BY-YEAR |
| Year |
Men |
Women |
| 1989-90 |
3-8 |
4-9 |
| 1990-91 |
6-7 |
5-7 |
| 1991-92 |
8-2 |
5-6 |
| 1992-93 |
8-2 |
5-6 |
| 1993-94 |
4-5 |
5-5 |
| 1994-95 |
6-5 |
6-6 |
| 1995-96 |
5-4 |
6-6 |
| 1996-97 |
4-7 |
4-9 |
| 1997-98 |
5-7 |
9-6 |
| 1998-99 |
3-8 |
8-5 |
| 1999-00 |
6-8 |
8-7 |
| 2000-01 |
1-11 |
6-8 |
| 2001-02 |
3-9 |
6-8 |
| 2002-03 |
7-5 |
9-5 |
| 2003-04 |
9-6 |
5-10 |
| 2004-05 |
8-6 |
7-6 |
| 2005-06 |
9-4 |
8-4 |
| TOTALS |
95-94 |
106-111 |
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Each year, McLaughlin’s team faces a grueling schedule which includes not only the highly-regarded teams in Division III, but Division I and II teams as well. The veteran coach knows that to be the best you have to compete against the best. Also, McLaughlin’s swimmer have shown their ability to perform at a high level in the classroom as the swim program records one of the highest team GPA’s each year. The women’s team has held the highest GPA of the Athletic Department’s 21 teams for the past four years.
A graduate of Central Connecticut in 1981, McLaughlin spent four years as a member of the Blue Devils swim team, earning captain honors in both his junior and senior seasons. Following graduation, McLaughlin moved on to Springfield College where he earned his master’s degree and later became assistant swim coach at Lafayette College and then the U.S. Naval Academy.
During his tenure at Montclair State, McLaughlin also succeeded in turning the women’s tennis program into one of the more competitive teams in the East region. Inheriting an 0-8 team that had not had a winning season in 10 years, McLaughlin posted a 106-65-1 record, picking up his 100th career victory in the fall of 2002. A multiple Coach of the Year honoree in the New Jersey Athletic Conference, McLaughlin also guided MSU to its only NJAC title, a co-championship in 1996.
McLaughlin resides in Caldwell with his wife Andrea and their children Brianna and Andrew. |
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