Washington State University Athletics

Tom Jager carries the philosophy that honesty, plus respect, plus punctuality equals integrity. Jager brought this mindset into his seventh season at the helm of Washington State University swimming.

Tom Jager enters his seventh season as the Cougars head women’s swimming coach. A 1987 graduate of UCLA, Jager was named to the Pac-12 Men's Swimming Olympic Sports All-Century Team in 2016 for his success in the water. Jager joined WSU in May, 2011 after seven seasons as the head coach at the University of Idaho. Jager took charge of the Vandal program in January 2004, reviving the Idaho program that had been dormant for nearly two decades. He also helped into diving to the school beginning in the 2008-09 season.
 
In Jager’s seven years, the Cougars have boasted 60 Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including 19 Pac-12 Conference All-Academic First Team members.
 
Last season, WSU tallied four dual meet wins including WSU’s first victory over UCLA in program history in addition to wins over Northern Arizona, Oregon State and Utah. The Cougars produced another strong showing at the Pac-12 Championships, capping the year with four school records in the final meet of the season. Following the season, 12 swimmers earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors including three first team selections and as a team, WSU garnered CSCAA Scholar All-America team honors.
 
The 2015-16 Cougars posted a winning dual-meet record for the second-straight year, finishing 8-2 in dual meets, including six-straight dual-meet victories. Jager led the Cougars to a seventh-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships, the highest finish for Cougar swimming since 2011. In the process, Washington State defeated Pac-12 foes Arizona State, Oregon State and Utah. The Cougars earned victories over three different conference opponents for the second time in school history and set 33 WSU all-time top-10 performances. Also during the 2015-16 campaign, three Cougars posted qualifying times for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. Following the season, nine swimmers earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors including two first team selections.
 
In 2014-15, Jager guided the Cougars to six-straight dual meet victories for the first time since 2008-09. The streak included wins over Arizona State and Utah for the first time in school history, and a victory against Oregon State, marking the first time in program history WSU beat three conference opponents in a season. Under Jager’s guidance, the Cougars set 64 lifetime bests, broke three school records and finished eighth at the Pac-12 Conference Championships. Ten Cougar swimmers were named to the Pac-12 All-Academic teams, including four student-athletes on the Pac-12 All-Academic First Team.
 
Jager led the Cougars to an eighth-place finish at the Pac-12 Championships in 2013-14, their best finish since a seventh-place finish in 2011. The Cougars’ 200 medley relay team of Emma Johansson, Frederikke Hall, Alison Mand and Nicole Proulx broke the school record at the Championships, in a time of 1:39.45. The finish was one of two record-setting finishes by WSU on the season, as the relay team of Emma Johansson, Alison Mand, Haley Rose Love and Anne Kenney finished the 200 free relay at the Hawkeye Invitational in 1:31.66 seconds. In addition, five individual swimmers received the CSCAA Honorable Mention Scholar All-America Award in 2013-14.
 
During Jager’s second campaign with the Cougars, WSU finished 6-6 in dual meets. The Cougars placed ninth at the Pac-12 Championships. Loree Olson highlighted the season by becoming the Cougar all-time record holder in the 400 IM. Olson also placed second all-time on the Washington State records list in the 200 back. Emma Johansson placed in the top three of the Cougar all-time lists in the 50 free, 100 back and 100 butterfly. Shelbi Luchini notched the third-best time in Cougar history in the 200 back, as did Kelly Tannhauser in the 400 IM. A total of eight Cougar swimmers made the Cougar all-time top-10 lists.
 
In his first season with the Cougars, Jager led the team to two dual meet victories. The Cougars took ninth place at the Pac-12 Championships, qualifying for 16 (2013-21, 2014-25) spots in evening sessions, including a 21st-place finish by Shelbi Luchini in the 400 IM with a time of a 4:21.18, landing her second on the WSU all-time list.
 
A native of Collinsville, Ill., Jager earned six NCAA championships, including five individual, and two Olympic gold medals (1984) as a member of relay teams by the time he graduated from UCLA. He added two gold medals on relay teams and a silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle at the 1988 Olympic Games. In 1992, he closed out his Olympic career with a gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay and a bronze medal in the 50-meter freestyle. Jager is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame and the USA Swim Team of the Century. He is a former captain of the U.S. national team, won 11 national titles and held the 50-meter freestyle world record three times, including a 10-year run from 1990-2000.
 
Jager and his wife, Becky, have two sons, Wyatt and Cy.