COACHING STAFF 2011-2012 PROVIDENCE COLLEGE SWIMMING & DIVING
JOHN O’NEILL HEAD COACH l 22ND SEASON
John O’Neill begins his 22nd year at Providence College as the head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs. The 2011-12 season marks his fifth-consecutive season with the Friars, after serving five years as head coach at the United States Military Academy at West Point. O’Neill founded the Friars program in 1984-85 and spent 17 seasons leading the program through the 2000-2001 season. Since returning to Providence, Coach O’Neill has consistently increased the number of BIG EAST qualifiers each year. During the 2010-11 season, a school-record 30 individual swimmers and divers competed at the BIG EAST Championships in Louisville, Ky. thanks in part to O’Neill’s tutelage. In addition, he helped 1m diver Allie Black become the first Friar ever to qualify for a NCAA Diving Regional Championship. Black competed in the NCAA Zone A Championship in Annapolis, Md. in March 2011. As head coach of the Friars, O’Neill has presided over some of the most successful squads in the history of the program. In 1986, he coached PC’s first BIG EAST individual champion, Horace Bowden. On the women’s side, O’Neill coached five different BIG EAST Champions who have won a total of 12 different events at the BIG EAST Swimming & Diving Championships. O’Neill has received many coaching accolades, including men’s New England Coach of the Year (1999), New England Women’s Coach of the Year (1990, 1992, 1993) and BIG EAST Women’s Coach of the Year (1998). O’Neill was the head coach of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs at West Point from 2001-2006. O’Neill was named Patriot League Co-Coach of the Year in men’s swimming and diving in 2004. During his tenure on Army’s pool deck, he coached 15 swimmers who set Academy records, 32 All-Patriot League performers, 11 Patriot League Champions and 16 CSCAA Academic All-Americans. O’Neill is a 1981 graduate of Springfield College where he swam for three seasons on the varsity squad. A past President of both the BIG EAST and New England Men’s and Women’s Swimming & Diving Associations, O’Neill was inducted into the Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame in 1994. He currently serves as Vice President of the BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Coaches Association. O’Neill and his wife Cindy have three children, Shannon, 26, a graduate of Springfield College, Tom, 24, a graduate of Providence College, and Meghan, 18. The O’Neills reside in Cumberland, R.I.
NEWELL ROBERTS DIVING COACH l 18TH SEASON
Long time Friar Diving Coach Newell Roberts heads the 2011-12 Providence diving program in his 18th year. Roberts has served as diving coach for virtually all of Coach O’Neill’s tenure at Providence. All of the Friars’ school record holders on the boards have competed for the veteran coach. In the 2010-11 season, Roberts led a young and talented diving squad, helping four divers reach the BIG EAST Championships and one diver place in the top-16. Roberts also played an instrumental role in helping Allie Black reach the NCAA Zone A Diving Championships--a first for Friar swimming history. Roberts, a former All-American swimmer and diver at Keene State College, competed on the national level as a Masters diver. Roberts has also coached club diving for over 20 years. He and wife Patrice have two children, Santana, 17, and Newell Jr., 14. Roberts and his family reside in West Greenwich, R.I.
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