Mitch Ivey
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Mitchell Ivey (born February 2, 1949) is a former American international
swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...
who was a
backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...
specialist and Olympic medalist. Ivey later became a prominent Olympic and college swimming coach.


Early years

He was born in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
, and trained with the Santa Clara Swim Club under coach
George Haines George Frederick Haines (March 9, 1924 – May 1, 2006) was a competitive swimmer and coach who for twenty-three years coached the highly successful Santa Clara Swim Club which he founded in 1951. He later coached UCLA, Stanford University, ...
.Sports-Reference.com, Olympic Sports, Athletes
Mitch Ivey
Retrieved July 5, 2012.
As a member of the Santa Clara Swim Club, he won three
Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...
(AAU) United States national championships. He initially attended
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
, but transferred to
California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...
, where he swam for coach Don Gambril's
Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics (previously known as the 49ers), are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...
swim team in
National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
(NCAA) competition. Ivey won the 200-yard backstroke at the
NCAA Men's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Division I men's swimming and diving championships (formerly the NCAA University Division swimming and diving championships) are contested at an annual swim meet hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the ind ...
with a time of 1:52.77 in 1970, and graduated from Long Beach State in 1972.


Olympic career

Ivey participated in two Olympics as a member of the United States Olympic Team: the
1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...
in Mexico City, and the
1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...
in Munich, Germany, winning two Olympic medals. He won a silver medal by finishing second behind
Roland Matthes Roland Matthes (, ; 17 November 1950 – 20 December 2019) was a German swimmer and the most successful backstroke swimmer of all time. Between April 1967 and August 1974 he won all backstroke competitions he entered. He won four European champ ...
in the men's 200-meter backstroke in 1968.databaseOlympics.com, Athletes
Mitch Ivey
. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
He also won a bronze medal with a third-place finish in the 200-meter backstroke, and competed in the 100-meter backstroke, placing fourth in the finals at the 1972 Olympics. He swam for the gold medal-winning U.S. relay team in the preliminary heats of the men's 4×100-meter medley, but was ineligible to receive a medal under the 1972 Olympic swimming rules because he did not swim in the event final.


Coaching career

Ivey became a noted Olympic and college swimming coach after his own competition swimming career ended. From 1974 to 1979, he was the head coach of the Santa Clara Swim Club, succeeding George Haines. Three of his Santa Clara swimmers qualified for the
1976 Summer Olympics The 1976 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Montreal 1976 (), were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal ...
. In 1981, he became the head coach of the Concord Pleasant Hill Swim Club. From late 1988 to mid-1990, he coached the elite Etobicoke Swim Club in Toronto, Ontario. He served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic Team at the
1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
. Ivey was chosen to replace Randy Reese as the head coach of the Florida Gators swimming and diving team of the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...
, and led the Gators women's team from 1990 to 1993.
Florida Swimming & Diving 2011–12 Media Supplement
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida (2011). Retrieved July 5, 2012.
During his three seasons as Florida's coach, the Lady Gators swimmers won the
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
(SEC) championship three consecutive years, and finished third, third and second nationally at the NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. He was also recognized as the SEC Coach of the Year for three consecutive seasons. The
University of Florida Athletic Association The University Athletic Association, Inc. (UAA) is a non-profit corporation that is responsible for maintaining the Florida Gators intercollegiate sports program of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The UAA is run by a board o ...
released him in October 1993 following an episode of the
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
television show ''
Outside the Lines ''Outside the Lines'' is an American sports news and analysis program that was broadcast by ESPN from 1990 to 2022. The series featured segments with discussions and investigative journalism surrounding prominent headlines and topics within spor ...
'' which recounted Ivey's history of romantic involvement with several of his previous swimmers before he became a coach at the University of Florida, and made allegations of sexual harassment against him. Ivey had been previously married three times, including his second wife who was an 18-year-old swimmer at the time he married her.Pat Dooley,
UF swim coach Mitch Ivey fired
" ''The Gainesville Sun'', pp. 1A & 8A (October 26, 1993). Retrieved July 8, 2012.
Ivey denied the charges of misconduct, saying "I was told that putting my arm around a girl and using foul language was deemed reason enough or the University of Florida to fire him" ESPN did not interview Ivey, nor did he answer on air any of the allegations by ESPN. His Florida women's swimmers issued a unanimous statement supporting him, and stated publicly they did not complain about nor witness any inappropriate behavior. Ivey later coached the Trinity Prep Saints swimming and diving team of Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Florida, and its affiliated club team, Trinity Prep Aquatics, during the late 1990s. Most recently, from 2003 to 2006, Ivey coached swimming at the Episcopal School of Jacksonville, Florida. Suzette Moran, who was also coached by King, alleges in a lawsuit she was 16 when U.S. Olympic coach Mitch Ivey first made sexual advances toward her. Ivey, a two-time Olympic medalist who coached at Concord Pleasant Hill Swim Club at the time, allegedly went into her hotel room and had unwanted sex with her during the 1983 U.S. Championships in Indianapolis on a trip chaperoned by King. On December 24, 2013,
USA Swimming USA Swimming is the national governing body for competitive swimming in the United States. It is charged with selecting the United States Olympic Swimming team and any other teams that officially represent the United States, as well as the overa ...
, the national governing body for competition swimming in the United States, officially banned Ivey for life based on evidence that he had improper sexual relations with one or more swimmers while he was their coach.


Personal life

Ivey is the father of
Jeb Ivey Jeb Mikel Ivey (born November 7, 1980) is an American former professional basketball player. He won the Icelandic championship twice, with Njarðvík in 2006, and with Snæfell in 2010. He also won the Finnish championship twice with Nilan B ...
, a former professional basketball player.


See also

*
List of California State University, Long Beach people The following is a list of notable people associated with California State University, Long Beach. CSULB has more than 320,000 alumni as of 2018. Alumni Entertainment * Millicent Borges Accardi: poet and writer, NEA winner * Paul "Coy" Alle ...
*
List of Olympic medalists in swimming (men) This is the complete list of men's Olympic medalists in swimming. Men's events 50 metre freestyle 100 metre freestyle 200 metre freestyle 400 metre freestyle 800 metre freestyle 1500 metre freestyle 100 metre backstroke 200 m ...
*
Long Beach State 49ers Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics (previously known as the 49ers), are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...
*
Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Stanford University. Stanford's program has won 138 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA team championships, the List of NCAA schools ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivey, Mitch 1949 births Living people American male backstroke swimmers Florida Gators swimming coaches Long Beach State Beach swimmers Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic gold medalists for the United States in swimming Olympic silver medalists for the United States in swimming Swimmers from San Jose, California Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade 20th-century American sportsmen