BATON ROUGE — Rick Meador, the winningest coach in LSU swimming and diving history and a seven-time all-American swimmer at the school, resigned as head coach of the men’s swimming and diving program on Monday, LSU athletic director Joe Dean announced.
Meador had served as head coach of both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams for the last 12 years.
“I’ve had many wonderful years at LSU,” Meador said. “But, it’s time for me and my family to move on. I’ve lost three members of my family over the last couple of years and that has taken it has toll on me. LSU is a wonderful place and I’m certainly going to miss working with the program.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to pursue some other interests. This is a decision that I’ve been considering for quite some time. It’s not an easy decision because of my feelings for LSU. I leave LSU with no regrets.”
In 12 years with the Tigers, Meador led the men’s swimming and diving team to 10 top 25 finishes, including a 12th place finish in 1995. Meador directed the Lady Tigers to 11 top 25 finishes with its best NCAA showing coming in 1991 when LSU placed 14th at the national championships. In all, Meador posted a combined dual meet mark of 192-82.
Prior to being named head coach at LSU, Meador served as an assistant coach for the Tigers from 1982 to 1988. Meador helped lead the Tigers to the SEC Championship in his final season as an assistant coach in 1988. As head coach of the Tigers, Meador was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1995 after leading the men’s team to a fourth place finish at the conference meet.
As a swimmer at LSU, Meador earned seven all-America honors between 1977 and 1980. During his four years with the Tigers, Meador set eight school records and nine pool marks. He won the SEC title in the 100-yard breaststroke in 1979. In 1980 Meador was named LSU’s Athlete of the Year and in 1988 he was inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame.
Meador, who plans on remaining in the Baton Rouge area, is married to the former Teri Ann Schaffer of DeRidder, La., and the couple has three children, Grace, James and Jeremy.