Ben Nigro
Title: Head Coach
Experience: Fourth Season
Alma Mater: University of North Carolina - Wilimington '93
Email: bnigro@niagara.edu
Bio:
Ben Nigro begins his fourth year as head coach of the Niagara swimming and diving program.
Under Nigro’s guidence, the Purple Eagles set 14 records during the 2008-09 season, including Ian O’Rourke claiming all of the male diving records.
In his second year, the Purple Eagles men’s team finished fourth and the women’s team finished fifth in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Confernece, the program’s best finish in over seven years. Nigro also had the pleasure to coach swimmer Pat Garvey as he won two individual MAAC titles and became the first Purple Eagle to win an ECAC Championship.
Under Nigro’s guidance, the Purple Eagles set 16 school records during the 2007-08 season.
Nigro’s first year donning the purple and white saw Niagara set six school records and both teams improved over 50 points at the MAAC Championships.
Before Niagara, Nigro gained coaching experience at the University of New Hampshire, University of Vermont and the University of North Carolina-Willimington. While at Vermont, Nigro was the men’s recruiting coordinator, where he doubled the number of early applications and increased the overall number of applicants by 25 percent. At New Hampshire, Nigro was the assistant coach, in charge of recruiting and the distance program. Nigro was part of the America East Coaching Staff of the Year as UNH women won the conference title for a third time.
Before his stint at UNH, Nigro directed programs at the USA level in clubs in North Carolina, South Carolina and Vermont from 1997-2002.
A 1993 graduate of the University of North Carolina-Wilmington with a bachelor of science in geology, Nigro began his coaching career at his alma mater. After graduating as a four-year breaststroke and butterfly swimmer, Nigro was the graduate assistant for the Seahawk program for four years. He was involved in recruiting and assisted the distance program, while coaching elite athletes like Turkish National Champion Burak Erdem.
During his last season at UNCW, Nigro helped the women’s program take the 1997 ECAC Championship.
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