Marc Swindle - Women's Volleyball Coach - Air Force Academy Athletics

Marc Swindle

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
marc.swindle@usafa.edu
Phone:
719-333-6789

Marc Swindle returns to the sidelines for his third season as the head coach of the Air Force volleyball team – and his ninth overall with the program. Swindle, who spent six seasons as an assistant for the Falcons before taking over the head coaching post in April 2016, has been a significant factor during the program’s rebuilding process.

Swindle, who took over a program that included only three veterans with significant playing experience, saw his young squad win eight of their first 10 matches and post the program’s best 10-match start to a coaching tenure since 1981. He collected his first coaching victory in the team’s opener against Jacksonville State on Aug. 26, while the Falcons captured the team title at the Sawyer Camillo Memorial Classic and finished the non-conference slate with the program’s best winning percentage (.692) in nearly two decades. Following a sweep of Fresno State during the Mountain West campaign, Swindle became the program’s first Division I head coach to collect a double-digit win total in their debut season.

The Falcons continued to improve during Swindle’s second season, matching the Academy record for Mountain West wins in a season (seven) and equaling the most overall victories at the Division I level (14). He saw his lone senior, Piper Heineck, record a bevy of notable honors, as she set three Air Force DI records in blocking, became just the fourth Falcon to earn all-conference accolades from the Mountain West and the first to ever claim MW Player of the Week honors more than once in a season. Despite losing one of his top offensive threats to injury after the opening weekend, Swindle’s 2017 squad captured their first victory over Army West Point in 13 years, their first win over New Mexico in 14 years, their first-ever road win against UNLV and their first season sweep of Fresno State – a feat highlighted by the first program’s first victory in Fresno.

As an assistant coach at the Academy during the 2010-15 seasons, Swindle saw the Falcons record their first double-digit win total in more than a decade (13 in 2014) and tally the most conference wins (seven in 2014) since moving to Division I. He also helped Air Force snap a 74-match losing skid in conference play (2010, San Diego State) and a 66-match match skid in conference play on the road (2012, at Nevada). Swindle coached Akokwe Clement to all-conference accolades in back-to-back years – the first such Division I occurrence in Academy history – and helped Air Force to two High Honorable Mention recruiting awards from PrepVolleyball.com (2012, 2014).

In addition to his coaching duties at Air Force, Swindle has worked as a coach and evaluator at USA Volleyball’s National Team Tryouts in Colorado Springs and served as the assistant coach of the Mountain West All-Star Volleyball Team that finished third at the European Global Challenge in Croatia during the summer of 2015. He is also in his second season as a member of the All-American Selection Committee.

Swindle joined the Academy staff after spending two years as a volunteer assistant at the University of New Mexico. During his time on the sidelines, the Lobos compiled a 42-17 record and made their first appearance at the NCAA Championships in 15 years.

Prior to joining the collegiate ranks, he spent over 20 years as a club coach, with his teams winning 16 age-group regional championships and 14 qualifications to the USA Volleyball National Championships. Two of the athletes he coached, Colleen Smith and Jeannie Fairchild, went on to receive AVCA All-America status as college players. Swindle also spent 10 years as the director of the New Mexico Juniors program, which grew from four teams to the largest club in New Mexico in just three years.

In 2004, Swindle founded University Athlete, Inc., a company that helped college volleyball coaches find, identify and communicate with over 100,000 club volleyball players. He was also the vice-president of Synch, Inc., a marketing and advertising agency that assisted such companies as the Santa Fe Opera and the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Swindle graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1992, following a four-year career as a member of the UNM men’s volleyball team. He was named the USA Volleyball Regional Player of the Year during the 1991-94 seasons.