Steve Collins served as head coach of the SMU women's swimming and diving team for 37 seasons, completing his tenure in 2023. A two-time NCAA Coach of the Year and 11-time conference Coach of the Year, Collins led the Mustangs to 17 conference championships and made an appearance at the NCAA Championships on 35 occasions. During his tenure, SMU garnered 15 top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships, nine of those in the top five.
In 2021, Collins was named a College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association's (CSCAA)Â 100 Greatest College Swimming & Diving Coaches of the past 100 years.
Under Collins, 61 individuals earned 242 All-America honors, and 98 relays were honored. The conference championships totaled 373, and 33 athletes have competed in nine different Olympics.
Collins guided ten student-athletes to conference swimmer of the year awards, including three-time Conference USA selection Therese Svendsen, three-time WAC selection Martina Moravcova and two-time WAC selection Georgina Lee. Most recently, Lucrezia Napoletano earned honors in the American Athletic Conference in 2023. Erin Trahan was also honored in The American in 2019 on the heels of Matea Samardzic's back-to-back honors in 2017 and 2018.
A successful coach on the international level, Collins was appointed to the Bulgarian staff for the 2016 and 2012 Olympics, and was the head coach of the Slovakian Olympic Team at the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 summer games. Collins' swimmers at SMU have earned medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World University Games, European, Pan American Games, Mediterranean and African Championships. Since his arrival on the Hilltop in 1986, Collins coached 33 Olympians, including 1997 NCAA Swimmer of the Year and former SMU volunteer assistant coach Martina Moravcova, who won two silver medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, and also competed in the 1992, 1996, 2004 and 2008 summer games.Â
Collins led the Mustangs to two AAC championships, nine WAC championships and six C-USA championships for a total of 17 team championships. He led the Mustangs to their highest finish ever at the NCAA Championships in 1996, when SMU finished second in the nation and earned Collins his second NCAA National Coach of the Year award. He was also tabbed NCAA Coach of the Year in 1991. Collins was named SWC Coach of the Year in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1996, WAC Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1998, C-USA Coach of the Year in 2007, 2008, and 2012 and most recently American Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2016.
A 1977 graduate of Florida State, Collins swam free and back events for the Seminoles and captained the Florida State team his senior year.
Before arriving on the Hilltop, Collins served seven years as head coach of the South Carolina swimming program, leading the Gamecocks to two MCAC conference championships and six top-20 NCAA finishes in seven years. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Collins attended Eastmoor High School in Columbus, Ohio. Collins and his wife Toni, an SMU graduate and CPA, are proud parents of twin daughters, Kate and Hanna.
17 Conference Championships
WAC (9): 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
C-USA (6): 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012
American (2): 2015, 2016
13 Coach of the Year Honors
NCAA (2)
SWC (4)
WAC (2)
C-USA (3)
American (2)
