Damion Dennis enters his 12th season with the Mountaineer swimming and diving program in 2018-19, and he is in his sixth season as associate head coach. Dennis brings a wealth of knowledge and a passion for swimming to the pool deck. He is involved in all facets of the program, including overseeing recruiting and sprint training and assisting head coach Vic Riggs with the day-to-day operations.
 
Since coming to WVU, Dennis has been an integral part in transforming WVU’s program into a nationally recognized force. Working primarily with the power group, Dennis has helped achieve some of the top individual and relay performances in WVU history, and he has assisted 14 Mountaineer swimmers in qualifying for the NCAA Division I Swimming and Diving Championships in the last five years. In 2014, West Virginia qualified all five of its relays to the NCAA Championships, including an “A” cut from the 200 freestyle relay team.
 
Thanks to his coaching expertise in sprinting, nearly every top time in the sprint events has been established during Dennis’ tenure, including six Big 12 champion titles – two from Tim Squires and Jake Armstrong and one from Bryce Bohman and Andrew Marsh. Marsh’s performance broke the Big 12 record in the 100 backstroke, which still currently stands.
 
As a coach at West Virginia, Dennis boasts an impressive repertoire of stats: 17 All-Americans, 31 NCAA Championships qualifiers, 40 conference champions, 15 U.S. Olympic Trials qualifiers and one World Championships qualifier. Dennis-coached athletes have consistently been ranked nationally, as well as train for some of the sport’s most prestigious events.
 
The accolades have continued for WVU’s men’s and women’s teams over the past two seasons. The Mountaineers combined to earn two gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze medals at 2018 Big 12 Championship, highlighted by junior Jake Armstrong’s successful title defense win in the 100 breaststroke and junior Tristen Di Sibio’s victory in the 200 breaststroke. The Mountaineer men and women each earned a second-place team finish at the conference meet.
 
Armstrong’s time of 52.11 in the 100 breast prelims became the fastest in program history, qualifying him for the 2018 NCAA Men’s Championships, where he tied for 14th place and earning honorable mention All-America honors.
 
In the classroom, 30 members of the swimming and diving teams earned Academic All-Big 12 honors in 2017-18, and both squads were again named CSCAA Scholar All-America teams. Seniors Amelie Currat and James Koval won the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards, marking the second consecutive year Currat has won the award and the seventh time the Mountaineers have won the academic honor over the past six seasons.
 
In 2016-17, the Mountaineers combined to earn one gold, 11 silver and eight bronze medals at the Big 12 Championship, leading the way for 11 swimmers being named to the All-Big 12 First Team and 14 others named to the second team.
 
Armstrong led WVU in the pool by registering the 100 breaststroke Big 12 title. Armstrong became WVU’s sixth male Big 12 champion and 10th overall since joining the conference in 2013. The Mountaineer men finished second, while the women placed fourth at the conference meet.
 
The 2015-16 season was no doubt monumental for West Virginia. Whether the team succeeded in or out of the pool, Dennis was an integral part of each accomplishment. As the record-breaking year continued for the Mountaineers, Dennis coached Marsh to a Big 12 gold medal in the 100 backstroke while also setting a Big 12 Championship record time of 45.41. Marsh also marked a school record in the 100 butterfly with a prelim time of 46.59 to advance him to the A final. That same year, 18 Mountaineers earned medals at the four-day championship with eight All-Big 12 First Team performances and 12 All-Big 12 Second Team honors.
 
For the second consecutive year, Marsh qualified to compete at the 2016 NCAA Championships in three events with his highest placing of 17th in the 100 backstroke.
 
The Mountaineer men finished second at the 2016 Big 12 Championship, posting their best finish at the conference championship since joining the Big 12, while the women’s squad finished fourth.
 
Academically, junior Nathan Howells was named the 2015-16 Big 12 Men’s Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the third Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the men’s squad and the fourth overall for the WVU swimming and diving program at the time. Howells also was named to the 2016 Academic All-District At-Large Team. Additionally, 24 members of the WVU swimming and diving team were named to the 2016 Academic All-Big 12 Team.
 
During the 2014-15 season, Dennis’ coaching led Marsh and Squires to swim qualifying standards for the 2015 NCAA Championships. Squires qualified in the 50 and 100 freestyle, while Marsh qualified in the 100 backstroke, 100 butterfly and 100 freestyle.
 
Dennis helped multiple swimmers to conference and NCAA distinctions in 2013–2014 as well. Mountaineer great Bryce Bohman was named the Big 12 Swimmer of the Year after setting school records in the 100 backstroke (45.29), 200 backstroke (1:39.83), and 100 butterfly (46.76). Bohman’s 100 backstroke ranked 19th all-time in the United States, and his 200 backstroke ranked him 20th all-time. Bohman was a two-time All American that season, and the WVU men placed 23rd at the NCAA Championships.
 
Dennis also coached Squires to a historic performance at the 2014 Big 12 Championship. Squires picked up WVU’s first individual Big 12 title, winning the 50 freestyle in 19.32 to achieve an NCAA ‘A’ cut. Squires also won the 100 freestyle, earning the Men’s Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet honor for his championship performances. He ranked among the best all-time in the U.S. in the 50 freestyle.
 
The 2012–13 season was WVU’s inaugural season in the Big 12, and Dennis helped coach the women’s team to a second-place finish at the 2013 Big 12 Championship. Rachael Burnett was named the Big 12 Most Outstanding Swimmer, finishing first in the 200 freestyle, 500 freestyle and 1,650 freestyle events. Burnett also received honorable mention All-America recognition at the NCAA Championships that year, while Mandie Nugent became the first female swimmer in WVU history to be named a First Team All-American after a seventh-place finish in the 200 butterfly.
 
On the men’s side, Dennis led Julien Vialette and Ross Glegg to sub-20.0 swims in the 50 free at the Big 12 Championship with times of 19.90 and 19.95, respectively. In the 100 free, four Mountaineer sprinters placed in the top eight of the event. Swims like these helped bolster WVU’s sprinting presence in the conference alongside perennial powerhouse Texas. 
 
The 2011–212 season was highlighted by the women’s squad finishing 26th at the NCAA Championships. Burnett, Nugent, Kata Fodor and Danielle Smith earned honorable mention All-America honors as part of the 16th-place 800 freestyle relay team. Burnett earned the recognition twice more, finishing 14th in the 500 free and 11th in the 1,650 freestyle.  At that same championship meet, Nugent finished ninth in the 200 butterfly, also earning honorable mention All-America. 
 
At the 2012 Big East Championship earlier that season, the women’s team took third place and the men finished fourth, as 15 members of the squad earned All-Big East honors. Burnett and Nugent led the women with seven top-three finishes, while Taylor Camp had three for the men. Burnett was named the Big East Women’s Most Outstanding Swimmer, and Nugent qualified for the NCAA Championships.
 
Before coming to West Virginia, Dennis had a two-year stint at the University of California-San Diego, where he served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Prior to his stay at UC-San Diego, Dennis spent three years at Princeton, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under U.S. National Team Manager Susan Teeter. 
 
From 2000–02, Dennis worked as a graduate assistant at Michigan under world-renowned coaches Jim Richardson and Jon Urbanchek. He earned his master’s degree in kinesiology/exercise physiology in 2002. During his time at Michigan, the women’s team ranked in the top 20 in the country and the men were in the top 10.
 
Dennis put together an impressive undergraduate career at Western Illinois, where he earned a degree in exercise science/biomechanics in 2000. He was part of a six-time conference championship program, swimming the 100 back, 200 backstroke, 100 butterfly, 1,650 free, 400 individual medley, and diving two seasons. Under Hall of Fame coach Jerry Champer, Dennis was an eight-time all-conference swimmer. 
 
Dennis and his wife, Hillary, have two sons, Jameson and Hudson.