BALTIMORE, MD – The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association (CSCAA) unveiled its inaugural class of the CSCAA Division III Hall of Fame this week. Among the honorees are former Blue Jay head coaches
George Kennedy and
Tim Welsh and alumnus
Bill Smiddy.
This distinguished recognition aims to honor the exception contributions of swimmers, divers and coaches within the NCAA Division III realm. The inaugural induction ceremony is set to take place at the CSCAA Annual Awards Celebration on May 6 at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis.
In 2021, Kennedy and Welsh were named to the CSCAA's list of 100 Greatest College Coaches of the past century. That same year, Smiddy was honored as one of CSCAA's 100 Greatest Men's Swimmers and Divers of the last century.
Kennedy took over for Welsh and won 373 dual meets and 24 conference titles with the Blue Jays. He coached 31 national champions and more than 1,500 All-Americans in 31 seasons before retiring in 2016. At the NCAA Championships, the Blue Jay men and women finished in the top-10 an impressive 48 times, including 21 top-five finishes.
Kennedy was also a part of the 28 consecutive conference titles won by the men's team from 1971 through 1998. At the time, that streak was tied for the third-longest in any sport in Division III history. Kennedy was named the national coach of the year seven times and was inducted in the Johns Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013. He was named the CSCAA's Lifetime Achievement Award winner in 2016.
Welsh led the Johns Hopkins men to a 64-34 dual-meet record, eight MAC Championships, two NCAA Championships (1978, 1979) as well as a pair of national runner-up finishes in his eight seasons with the Blue Jays. He coached 210 All-Americans, 21 individual national champions and four relay national champions before taking over as head coach at the University of Notre Dame.
On the women's side, Welsh led the Blue Jays to 50 wins, the program's first-ever conference championship and the program's first four trips to the NCAA Championships. He coached 18 All-Americans, including the program's first-ever honoree.
Smiddy, a 1980 graduate of the University, earned CSCAA Swimmer of the Year honors in 1977 and 1978. He won eight NCAA individual titles, highlighted by a three-year run of dominance in the 200 individual medley. Smiddy earned All-America honors 17 times while leading Hopkins to three straight NCAA team championships (1977, 1978, 1979).
Smiddy won three national titles, including sweeping the 100 and 200 breaststroke, at the 1977 championship. The following year, he again swept the breaststroke and added titles in the 200 IM and 400 Medley Relay. In 1979, Smiddy swept the individual medley events as JHU won its third straight national championship. In addition, he won six MAC titles and was inducted into Hopkins Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995.
