Blaire Bachman - Women's Swimming and Diving Coach

Blaire Bachman

Title:
Assistant Coach Men's and Women's Swimming
Email:
bebachma@indiana.edu
Phone:
(812) 856-2410

Blaire Bachman is entering her second season on staff for the Hoosiers in 2017-18. Bachman will serve as an assistant swimming coach for both the Indiana men's and women's squads.

In 2016-17, the Indiana men claimed the program’s 25^th Big Ten Championship, going wire-to-wire to earn the title. For the week, IU won a total of 19 medals – 12 gold, five silver and two bronze. Indiana also won four of the five relays at the Big Ten Championships, marking the first time in program history the team accomplished that impressive feat.

At the 2017 NCAA Championships, the Hoosiers placed seventh overall – the best finish for the team since 1979. The 229.5 points are the most for IU since scoring 274 in 1975. The top-10 finish for the Hoosiers at the NCAA Championships is the fifth in the last six years. For the second-straight season, Indiana finished as the top Big Ten team at the NCAA Championships – the best stretch for IU since accomplishing the feat for 15-straight seasons from 1964-78.

Over the course of the meet, the Hoosiers had 13 individuals earn a total of 32 All-America honors – the most in program history in 42 years since the team tallied 36 in 1975.

For the IU women, the team placed second overall at the Big Ten Championships in 2016-17. IU has placed first or second at the Big Ten Championships in each of the last nine years, winning the title three-straight times from 2009 to 2011. Over the course of the meet, IU won a total of nine medals – eight gold and one silver.

At the 2017 NCAA Championships, Indiana placed eighth overall with a total of 185 points. The eighth-place finish is the second-best in school history, while the 185 points are the second-most in school history to last season's 228.

IU was the top Big Ten finisher at the NCAA Championships for the third-straight year, as
the Hoosiers posted back-to-back top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships for the first time since accomplishing the feat three times-in-a-row from 2008-10.

At the NCAA Championships, the Hoosiers had eight individuals earn a total of 24 All-America honors, marking the sixth time in the last nine seasons that Indiana has had 20 or more All-America accolades. Lilly King led the way, defending her NCAA titles in both the 100 and 200 breastroke.

"Blaire brings an uncommon level of passion for swimming to our staff," Ray Looze remarked at the time of Bachman's hiring. "At Indiana we all love swimming. In this respect, Blaire was the perfect fit for us. Her head coaching experience and ability to recruit will help Indiana break into the NCAA top-five in the future. She is a high energy person who will bring that approach to our pool deck daily. We expect her to enhance our student athlete experience by tapping into her unique skill set and coaching wisdom."

Bachman comes to Bloomington from Dartmouth, where she served as assistant swim coach for both the men's and women's teams since June of 2015.

"I want to thank Ray Looze and Indiana University for giving me the opportunity to join a dynamic coaching staff that is focused on the academic and athletic excellence of its student-athletes," Bachman said. "The spirit of Indiana athletics is undeniable; I'm honored to be a part of the Hoosier family and help in building upon its rich history of success."

Prior to Dartmouth, Bachman had a tremendously successful stint as head coach for the Brenau University women's swimming team for five years. At the time of her hiring at Brenau in July of 2010, Bachman was the youngest head swimming coach in the nation.

A four-time Appalachian Swimming Conference Coach of the Year, Bachman was named the NAIA Coach of the Year in 2014-15 after guiding Brenau to a third-place finish and four individual titles at the NAIA National Championships – the highest finish in team history.

In 2013-2014, Brenau Swimming marked its highest national ranking at that time, placing fourth at the NAIA National Championships in Oklahoma, while naming five swimmers to All-American status and earning two individual event national championship titles.

A native of Gainesville, Ga., Bachman graduated from Georgia College & State University in 2009 with a bachelor's degree in mass communications and a concentration in public relations.