BALTIMORE, MD – Former Johns Hopkins men's and women's swimming coach George Kennedy has been selected to the 2026 Richard A. Rasmussen University Athletic Association (UAA) Hall of Fame Class. This year's class of 16 inductees marks just the second full class in the Hall of Fame, which began in 2024 with then retiring UAA Executive Director Dick Rasmussen selected as the namesake and lone inductee.
 
A committee formed with representatives from each institution and the Association's office nominated and selected individuals to be included in the latest class. To be eligible as a student-athlete, a person must have earned their undergraduate degree from a UAA institution, competed for at least three years in the UAA and graduated at least 10 years ago. Coaches and administrators become eligible once they have retired from a UAA institution.
 
The 2026 class of inductees includes 10 athletes representing men's basketball, women's cross country/track & field, softball, women's swimming, men's swimming, men's tennis, men's track & field, and volleyball. Four head coaches in men's basketball, men's and women's swimming, volleyball and wrestling. In addition, a pair of administrators were selected.
 
Kennedy becomes the first representative from Johns Hopkins, which was part of the UAA from the beginning of the Association through the 2000-01 academic year.
 
Kennedy led the Johns Hopkins men's and women's swimming programs for 31 seasons. He won 373 dual meets and 24 conference titles, including 15 UAA titles, during his tenure. He coached 31 national champions and more than 1,500 All-Americans 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 2015 and the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Division III Hall of Fame in 2024.