Coach Brackin let go

B

bierce

1,000+ Posts
The women's swim team has slipped somewhat during her tenure, going from annual conference championship to only 2 in her 6 years. However, she still had the team in the top 10 nationally in 4 of the last 6 years.

That seems to be quite a bit better performance than in most women's sports.

The conference titles may be due as much as anything else to the emphasis placed on women's sports by A&M.
The Link
 
I really thought Brackin would get it done at Texas, especially when she reeled in big-time recruits from all over the country. I did find it odd that there was no official release of any class of 2013 signees last Fall (and not sure we ever heard of any commitments before that).

Obviously, one would think the Cal-Berkeley coach would be at the top of Texas' wish list. Doesn't mean they'd be interested, but it's hard to argue with the results out there. Plus, Berkeley isn't known for paying their coaches very well.

What I think will hurt the most is the Big 12 conference now that Nebraska, Mizzou, and A&M have moved on to other conferences. That doesn't leave a very strong swimming conference.

This article even talks about Texas women's athletics not being known to hire male coaches:

The Link
 
When I click the link provided by Moooo, I receive a warning stating my computer has a virus.

Anyone else receive the same warning ?
 
Subject to further investigation, I think both TCU and WVU have swimming programs, so not sure the Big 12 loses anything.
 
The swimming team slipped long before Brackin was hired and she appeared to have turned the program around, reversing the trend of not winning the conference championship. Recruiting this year was a complete bust after having success in previous years.

The team underperformed this year at the NCAA.

2012 Second Big 12 9th NCAA
2011 First Big 12 6th NCAA
2010 Second Big 12 11th NCAA
2010 First Big 12 5th NCAA

The new soccer coach was not top 5 so we'll see if CP can do better this time around. Certainly swimming is in better shape than soccer was when CP got off her *** and fired the coach.

Texas should pony up for the best not simply recycle a less than stellar "experienced" coach like the new soccer coach.
 
I really think there's something else behind the scenes there. We've had far worse performances in other non-revenue sports.
 
Anyone who thinks our swimming program was in better shape than our soccer team has very little understanding of the sport. And the differences between disciplines makes the kind of comparisons highlighted above meaningless.

The reality is the vast majority of top swimming recruits tend to sign with only a handful of programs each year, and the Horns have traditionally been among that group. And certainly we've had some amazing classes the past 4-5 years; no one is going to question Brackin's ability to bring in great recruits, and that is why there was so much initial excitement about her performance, and having her at the helm. And that first big class had a great freshman season at the NCAA level, so no reason not to think we were about to witness a renaissance for the program, and a return to the top. That same group had a big letdown the following season, however. So much so that our top swimmer, and probably the biggest name to sign with the program in over a decade, left the team. She didn't leave Texas, however, but instead began training with the men's team. I think most hoped that one season was an anomaly, but if you read various message boards, there was a lot of talk about the team not being prepared for the NCAA meet, and everyone missing their taper, and other similar commentary. But the team continued to sign big classes, including our 2010-2011 group which featured many top recruits. The Aggies also signed a strong class that season, though I think ours was ranked slightly higher than theirs. Those swimmers are currently sophmores, and if you look at the recently completed NCAA championships, IMO the results are shocking. I realize that's a strong word, but in this instance perhaps not strong enough to describe what transpired. Among the sophmore class of swimmers, the Aggies had 6 make A finals and another 5 made B finals of their respective events. The Horns did not have one sophmore, or put another way even a single recruit from that highly rated 2010 class make an A or B final. That's 11 finalists for the Aggies vs. 0 for the Horns among the sophmore class. The implications of that type of performance are huge, and it seems almost impossilbe that top recruits will continue to sign with the program given those results.

And if you look at the 2012 recruiting list, there is clear evidence of that. Among the top 10 recruits, Cal has signed 4, GA 3, USC 2, and the #1 recruit is going to AZ. The Horns don't have a single recruit ranked in the top 50 (the Ags, and even Missouri have one each in that group). And the Ags actually have 5 total top 100 recruits; the Horns have just one. Compare that to the top recruits, and classes we've signed the past four years, and it's obvious where things are headed for this program. But the fact is we still have a lot of great swimmers on the team; yes, we're losing one of our top two performers, and another graduates next year. But clearly there is enough talent on this team to turn things around if a change is made right now. And that is exactly what happened.

Honestly, the release about Brackin's departure was brief, and only noted that a change was being made. But it didn't say whether she had resigned, or been fired. You would have to assume the former, though. After the recent NCAA meet she would almost certainly relalized she was not the right person for the job, and that a change was needed. And I am sad about that because clearly her initial recruiting success, and track record at Auburn, indicated she was a great choice to lead this program. Few would argue it wasn't the right hire at the time, and most have also said she's a great person, and worked hard, so that makes it even more difficult to see her go. But the timing was absolutely right; any sooner and it wouldn't have allowed her the opportunity to show what she could do with the great classes, and swimmers she's signed. And any longer and turning around the program in the short term may not have been possible.

I agree signing the Cal coach would be the best possible hire but I can't imagine why someone who's won 3 of the last 4 NCAA championships, has a great team in place and four of the top 10 recruits in the country coming in would want to leave that position. But no doubt there are some good options out there, and UT can probably afford to pay more than other program in the country. And Austin is always a big drawing card for just about everyone, so I'm anxious to see who we come up with.
 
At long last, she has finally demanded results. All these coaches had to go. Plonsky has to go if she clearly shows she can't make a good hire. Aston is her big test. In the mid-90's Deloss was in the same place; it looked like he didnt know how to hire. He got better.
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