Swimming / Diving
- Title:
- Swimming Head Coach
- Email:
- lrwalker@syr.edu
- Phone:
- 4151
Lou Walker has been the driving force behind the development and success of the Syracuse swimming and diving program since 1976. From outstanding collegiate swimmer to five-time BIG EAST Conference Coach of the Year, Walker has been involved in every aspect of SU swimming and diving. His record in dual meets, conference and national meets speaks for itself.
In addition to his duties at SU, Walker has assisted in the growth of the sport overall. He has served as a member of the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Swimming Committee, a group that controls, directs and supervises the NCAA Division I, Division II and Division III Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. In the past, Walker has served as the president of the BIG EAST Swimming Coaches Association.
In his career as a freestyle and butterfly specialist at SU, Walker was the team captain for two years and set seven school records. As a senior, he competed in the NCAA Championship, the indoor and outdoor AAU Championships and the Pan-American Games trials. Walker received his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Syracuse in 1975 and completed his master’s degree in education in 1980.
Walker was named the head coach of the women’s squad in 1976 and has had just five losing seasons in 32 years. Among those who have earned honors under Walker’s tutelage is Liz Vilbert, the first four-year All-American in SU history and one of only four SU athletes to earn the recognition.
In 1979, Walker took charge of the men’s squad. He led the Orange to 14 consecutive winning seasons from 1987-2001. Most recently, Walker developed the third four-year All-American in SU history in Miroslav Vucetic, who captured his seventh career All-America honor in 1998. Miro’s brother, Josko Vucetic, a backstroke specialist, earned All-America honors under Walker’s supervision in 2001. Djordje Filipovic, who graduated from Syracuse in 2002, won 10 BIG EAST Conference individual championships. In 2005 and 2006, Luk Boral won the BIG EAST Conference championship in the men’s 200 breaststroke and has gone on to compete in the NCAA Championship.
SU has been particularly successful in The BIG EAST Conference under Walker. The men won the 1996 conference championship and have placed no lower than eighth in each of the past 11 years. In 2004, the men posted a fifth-place finish, their best since the 2000 campaign. During the 2006-07 season, the men were sixth with stand-out individual performances by Boral, Josh Scott, Rob Persico and a school-record time set by the 800 freestyle relay team which included sophomore Wes Matson.
The Orange men also won BIG EAST titles in 1980 and 1982 and placed second in 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1990. Walker is a five-time Coach of the Year in the BIG EAST, having earned those honors in 1982, 1988, 1990, 1995 and 1996. In 1990-91, he guided the men to the best record in their history, 12-1. In 1995, the Orange men were 9-0 and finished the season with a 17-meet winning streak, dating back to the previous season.
Under Walker’s direction, the women have had considerable success in The BIG EAST Conference, as well. He led SU to second-place finishes at the conference championship in 1983, 1984 and 1985. The women were fourth in the expanded conference championship in 1996. Since joining the BIG EAST in 1982, the Orange women have won league titles in 15 individual events and three relays.
Walker played a significant role in the career and development of Elyse McDonough, the 2004 BIG EAST Champion in the women’s 200 butterfly. During her four years, McDonough set nine university records. She became the first female swimmer at SU to qualify for the NCAA Championship since Vilbert in 1981. Walker accompanied her to Texas A&M University, where she competed in the 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley at the 2004 NCAA Women’s Swimming Championship.
A 1997 inductee into the Syracuse Orange Plus Hall of Fame, Walker was recognized for his dedication to excellence and success with women’s athletics. On September 21, 2001, he was named a Syracuse Letterwinner of Distinction, the highest honor bestowed upon an SU alumni from within the athletic department. Presently, he is a member of the Alumni Board of Directors.
Walker is married to SU assistant coach Ellie Walker and they have three children - Jacquelyn, Stephanie and Lou III. Jacquelyn graduated from Syracuse in 2004 and the law school in 2007. She was a four-time women’s lacrosse letterwinner and team captain her senior year. Stephanie competed for the Loyola College women’s lacrosse team in Baltimore and is teaching and coaching lacrosse at Bedford High School in Manchester, England, while Lou III played lacrosse at SUNY Potsdam.
