February 6, 1998

For Immediate Release (144-330-10450)

Ouachita Swimming and Diving Coach

Patrick T. Netherton

ARKADELPHIA, ARKANSAS--There is a very good reason why Ouachita Baptist University swimming and diving coach Jim Dann gets to work at 5 a.m. at Waggoner Pool in the Roy and Christine Sturgis Physical Education Center.

He has to.

Dann is charged with juggling an immense workload, between his duties as swimming and diving coach, instructor in the department of health, physical education and recreation, athletic facilities administrator and games administrator for basketball games.

"Sometimes it does get overwhelming," said Dann. "Part of my problem is that I try to do too much."

However, nobody will ever accuse Dann of not doing enough for his Tiger Sharks and Lady Tiger Sharks swimming and diving teams.

The 5 a.m. practices with his swimmers and divers are the successful foundation for a program built on hard work, dedication, discipline, and esprit de corps that has brought much recognition to the university's athletic program.

Since Dann arrived at Ouachita, his Tiger Sharks teams have finished in the Top 10 teams in the nation in NAIA ranks on 10 occasions. Since his Lady Tiger Sharks formed a separate team in 1989, Dann's squad has been in the Top 20 seven times.

Along with the team honors, Dann has also received his share of individual accolades. Last year, he was named NAIA National Swimming Coach of the Year. He has been named the NAIA National Diving Coach of the Year in 1995-96-97.

Dann was chosen as Coach of the Year in conference for 1983, 1985, 1993, and 1994. He also has been named as Master Coach by the College Swim Coaches Association. In addition to all of these awards, Dann has received the certificate of coaching excellence from the American Swim Coaches Association every year since 1989.

Probably the greatest personal award that Dann will have earned has not yet even been bestowed on him. Dann will be soon enshrined in the NAIA Swimming and Diving Coaches Hall of Fame. The ceremony will take place at the opening banquet of the annual NAIA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday, March 4 in Fife, Washington.

How does Dann react to the personal accolades?

"Rather than focusing on anything that I've done, I like to see what my swimmers have done after they've gotten out of Ouachita," said Dann. "What kind of people they've turned into."

If that is how Dann judges his success, then he has been extremely successful.

Lance Cansdale, OBU's first national champion in the 1650 freestyle (1985), went on to be named one of the Canadian National Team coaches last October.

Frank Giangrosso, who swam for Dann from 1982-86, completed a triple major in computer science, mathematics, and physics in only four years while competing on the Tiger team. He is now the chief software engineer for NASA.

Andy Allison, an Academic All-American in 1988, went on to get his master's from Duke University.

"After that he went on to be the number-two man in the Office of Management and Budget in Washington," said Dann.

"It's extremely satisfying to see how well my swimmers have turned out in their lives after school," he said.

Dann, a native of Ocala, Florida, graduated from Ocala High School in 1969. He then went to the University of Florida in Gainesville where he earned a bachelor of science degree in 1973.

He also swam for four years at UF, where he became a graduate assistant coach upon his graduation. He stayed in that position for one year, when he was moved up to full assistant coach. He remained in that capacity for three years.

In January of 1976, the head coach for the Gators was moved to a different position during the middle of the season and the 22-year-old assistant was tabbed to be the interim head coach.

"At 22-years-of-age I was really too young to be able to handle that job," said Dann. "But, I finished out the year."

Dann left the University of Florida after his half-year stint and coached a high school and club team in Jacksonville, Florida for the next year-and-a-half.

From there, Dann traveled to Leesburg (FLA) High School and coached until May of 1981.

That was when Dann was contacted by then Ouachita Athletic Director Bill Vining and then OBU President Daniel R. Grant. They convinced Dann to join the coaching staff at OBU, and he has been on the campus ever since.

Dann has seen many changes to the swimming program at Ouachita since arriving in Arkadelphia.

"When I got here, we had a little five-lane pool where the parking lot of the cafeteria is now," said Dann. "That was probably the worst pool in the world. When it rained, it rained just as hard in the pool as it did outside."

However, the administration promised Dann upon hiring him a new swimming facility and had the plans already drawn up for the new pool. Dann moved to Arkadelphia in the summer of 1981, but he did not move into the current pool until January of 1983.

When Dann got settled at OBU, he realized how much different coaching at the NAIA level is than at the NCAA Division I level.

"At Florida, recruiting was 99 percent of the game," said Dann. "We had 18 full scholarships so we basically could buy the athletes we needed to succeed."

According to Dann, up until two years ago, OBU did not offer any swimming scholarships. That made the recruiting philosophy different.

"We really didn't go looking for athletes that have already succeeded," said Dann. "We had to find athletes who we thought had the potential to succeed down the road."

Coaching success has come in many forms for Dann's athletes. As a coach, he has witnessed the success of several of his athletes, from the NAIA all the way to the Olympics.

Dann coached David Zubero (Spain) to a bronze medal finish in the 1980 Olympics in the 100 butterfly, as well as Martin Zubero (Spain), David's brother, to a gold medal finish in the 1992 Olympics in the 200 backstroke. Add to that a gold medal performance by David Larson (USA) in the 800 free relay at the 1984 Olympics, and Dann has two golds and a bronze medal to his coaching credit.

On the NAIA level, Dann has coached four Ouachitonians to national championships. They are: Cansdale; Greg Freeman in one- and three-meter diving (1989); Keith Sangalli in the 100 freestyle (1990); and Jesse Mullinax in the 100 breaststroke (1997).

"You feel good when they do well," said Dann. "But, really it's not about how many All-Americans you have, it's truly about how you influence these kids."

When Ouachita decided to make the jump from the NAIA to NCAA Division II in sports, Dann was in a strange situation. The Lone Star Conference does not have any swimming programs besides OBU. So Dann decided to join a different league.

When the Tigers were still in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference (AIC), the other swimming teams started dropping out. The AIC began with eight swimming teams, and when the league disbanded only four teams were left.

Dann decided to move his swimming teams to the New South Independent Swim League (NSISL). The league consists of University of Arkansas-Little Rock, John Brown University, Austin (TX) College, Delta State (MS) University, Hendrix College, Henderson State University, and OBU.

"We wanted to get into a competitive league with like philosophies about swimming," said Dann.

It is amazing that with all the duties Dann has for Ouachita he is able to have any sort of social life. But, Dann has a hobby which he loves to use as a relaxation technique to get away from the stresses of the daily grind.

"I love sailing," said Dann. "I got into the sailing thing 15 years ago. I find it as an incredible way to relax."

In order to fulfill his sailing urge, Dann bought himself a 28-foot Spirit boat, which he named "Spirit II." During weather-permitting weekends during the year, Dann can be found on Lake DeGray with his family and friends. But, for a man with so many duties, he can't escape very far.

"I try to get away a lot during the summer, but the athletic director's office keeps a beeper on me so I can't travel very far," laughed Dann.

For Dann though his life is measured abundantly, as many will testify, in such a fast crucible of involvement with others, both in and out of the water.