Harvey Humphries' 44-year association with the Georgia swim program is coming to an end.
Humphries, an assistant coach for the past 40 years and a Bulldogs swimmer before that, is retiring, the school announced Friday. He steps down as the right-hand man for long-time head coach Jack Bauerle. Together they’ve brought UGA seven team national championships, 12 SEC team titles, 99 individual and relay national crowns, three NCAA Woman of the Year winners and 39 NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients.
“I am flooded with emotions right now, but when I look at the big picture, I’m not sad,” Humphries said in an announcement on the school website. “I am proud of everything that we have accomplished as a program. And while this is hard to do, I’m confident it is the right time for me to step aside. It gives the program room to grow. We have a great coaching staff, and I know that things are only going to get better and better. I’m excited about what the future holds for all of us.”
Humphries guided Georgia's swimming and diving program through its one of its most difficult periods in 2014. With Bauerle sidelined while the NCAA investigated accusations of academic meddling, Humphries stepped in as interim head coach and led the women's team to its sixth national championship. Bauerle was censured and fined for his role in what was deemed to be a Level II NCAA violation and reinstated the next season.
Humphries was a swimmer for Georgia during the 1975-76 through 1978-79 seasons, worked as a graduate assistant coach in 1979-80 and 1981-82, and then became a full-time assistant at the start of the 1982-83 campaign. He has been serving as Georgia's associate head coach since 2012.
“The positive impact Harvey has made on our program is immeasurable,” Bauerle said in UGA's announcement. “No amount of words can do it justice. He is an incredible human being. He is Georgia swimming.”
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