Tom Milich

Position: Head Coach (Second Year) Alma Mater: Long Beach State, '78

Tom Milich enters his second season as head coach of the swimming and diving program at Fresno State.

In his first year, Milich guided the Bulldogs to their 15th consecutive campaign with a winning percentage of .500 or better with a 7-4-1 overall record. Milich replaced Daniella Irle midway through the season and compiled a 5-2 mark and a fifth place finish at the WAC Championship.

For the past 11 years, Milich has been the head coach of the Clovis Swim Club and the Aquatics Director of Clovis Unified School District. Under his tutelage, five swimmers have gone on to represent the United States in international competition while seven have competed at the NCAA Division I championships. As the district's aquatics manager, Milich oversees the Clovis Water Polo Club, Clovis Dive Club, Swim Clovis, Clovis Masters and the scheduling and staffing of all seven of the district's swimming facilities. For his efforts, Milich is a seven-time recipient of the American Swim Coaches Association Distinguished Coach Award.

Milich is no stranger to Fresno State having served as the head coach of the men's water polo team from 1989-92. During his tenure, he served on the NCAA regional advisory committee and as a NCAA representative for United States Water Polo. Milich was an assistant on the U.S. silver medal winning Olympic squad in 1988 and also served on the staff of the '91 gold medal World Championships team and the silver medal Pan Am Games group.

Prior to his collegiate and international experience, Milich coached at the high school level at El Dorado High School where he helped develop 34 All-Americans over seven years (1982-89), including Olympians Janet Evans and John Mykkanen. Under his guidance, the squad went undefeated against league competition and lost one dual meet overall en route to seven league crowns and three CIF Southern Section crowns. In 1987 he was a National High School Swimming Coach of the Year Finalist, the United States Western Regional Swimming Coach of the Year, the California Swimming Coach of the Year and garnered one of his nine all-league Coach of the Year awards.

Milich also served as El Dorado's head water polo coach compiling a 223-37 record while only losing one league match in seven seasons. Milich coached 27 high school All-Americans and won six league titles and three CIF Southern Section Championships. The two-time CIF Water Polo Coach of the Year was also the 1987 Orange County Coach of the Year and 1985 North Orange County Coach of the Year. In addition, Milich was the head coach of the Swim Team of Placentia where he oversaw a group of 100 swimmers that included Senior National, Junior National and age group level competitors.

Milich began his coaching career as an assistant swim coach for the Arcadia Swim Club (1973-76). In 1976, he began a similar position with the Beach Swim Club (1976-81) that he held for five years. During his tenure, he also served as an assistant for the men's swimming squad at Long Beach State (1976-79) and as head coach at Newport Harbor High School (1979-1982). While at the helm at NHHS, the team was three-time CIF Southern Section runner-up and ranked in the top three nationally in 1981 and 1982 by Swimming World Magazine. Highlighting the litany of prolific swimmers under his tutelage was 1980 and 1984 Olympian John Moffett and NCAA Division II record holders Tom Harrison and Doug Jones.

Milich graduated from Long Beach State with a B.A. in Biology in 1978 and earned his teaching credential in Life Sciences in 1980 from LBSU.