Staff Directory
Peterson, Steve
Steve Peterson
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
Personal
Wife: Meredith
Children: Tyler (19), Sydney (18)
College: University of Rhode Island (1985)
Individual Highlights
Indiana University
2003-Present: Head Coach
George Washington University
1996-03: Head Women’s Coach/Director of Rowing
Rutgers University
1992-95: Men's Varsity Lightweight Coach
University of Rhode Island
1989-91: Head Coach
1986-87: Assistant Coach
US Women’s National Team
1999-03: Assistant Coach
Steve Peterson enters his 22nd season as the head coach of Indiana rowing. During Peterson’s tenure, the Hoosiers have risen to national prominence, appearing in the NCAA Rowing Championships eight of the last 10 full seasons, including a streak of six straight beginning from 2014-19 as well as back-to-back trips in 2023 and 2024.
Passionate about teaching and coaching, Peterson creates a positive environment for his athletes that encourages them to be fearless, competitive and to challenge themselves mentally and physically while highlighting the importance of being part of something bigger than themselves.
A Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Head Coach of the Year (2014), two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2023, 24) and Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year (2000, 2001), Peterson welcomes his 35th season as a coach in 2024. Through the years, he has coached 13 All-Americans (17 selections), 27 All-Region honorees, and 48 All-Big Ten selections. He has also mentored 12 athletes that have gone on to compete at the World Championships or Olympic Games. Academically, over 400 IU rowers have been named Academic All-Big Ten honorees, and more than 100 rowers have earned CRCA National Scholar-Athlete honors.
Peterson repeated as Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading the program to a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championships for a second consecutive season. Nationally, the Hoosiers improved from a No. 17 national finish in 2023 to a No. 15 ranking in 2024. At the NCAA’s, Indiana’s Varsity Eight finished 14th, the boat’s top result since 2019, the 2V8 placed 16th and the Varsity Four came in 17th.
The Hoosiers second-place finish at the 2024 Big Ten Championships was boosted by an all-time best medal count. IU’s V8 finished one second out of first place to capture the silver medal spot for a second consecutive season. The Novice Eight also earned silver, while the 2V8 and V4 each posted bronze-medal performances.
2024 also saw grad transfer Bella Oertel and senior coxswain Katie Nelson become the program’s 11th and 12th All-Americans. In addition to those honors, senior Piper Maaka and freshman Nico Daly earned first-team All-Big Ten praise, followed by a pair of second teamers: senior Abbey Armstrong and Oertel. Daly was also named 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the second IU athlete to earn that honor (Alice Wright, 2014).
Prior to Indiana, Peterson served as the Head Women’s Coach and Director of Rowing at George Washington from 1996-2003. In 1998, he guided the GW team to the school’s only appearance in the NCAA Rowing Championships. Peterson also served as a U.S. Women’s National Team Assistant Coach from 1999-2003, overlapping his time at George Washington. His national team athletes won four silver medals and one bronze medal between the World Championships and Pan American Games.
In 1992, Peterson accepted the position of head coach for the varsity lightweight men's crew at Rutgers University, where he coached until 1995.
Peterson earned his first head coaching position at Rhode Island, where he served as an assistant from 1986-87 before taking the head role from 1989-91. While at URI, Peterson guided the Rams to victories at the New England Championships, Dad Vails, and Women's Eastern Sprints.
Peterson also has eight years of experience as a member of the USRowing High Performance Committee, which is responsible for planning and implementing the selection procedures and funding for the U.S. National and Olympic Teams.
As a rower, Peterson earned more than 50 championship medals during his rowing career. He competed for the U.S. National Team between 1989 and 1996, finishing among the top four in the world in the men's lightweight double and quadruple sculls on three separate occasions, and in the top ten during all seven of his years on the national team.
The highlight of his national team career came when his men's lightweight double scull won the world championship in 1990 in Tasmania, Australia, and he was inducted into the USRowing Hall of Fame as a member of that crew. For that performance, Peterson earned the 1990 Vesper Cup Award, presented annually to the U.S. National Team member for outstanding and inspirational achievement in international competition.
Peterson also rowed for the U.S. Olympic team in the men's lightweight double sculls at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, placing ninth, and is a seven-time U.S. National Team member.
A native of Cumberland, Rhode Island, Peterson is a 1985 graduate of the University of Rhode Island, where he earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and advertising. As a rower at URI, his lightweight eight crews won the Dad Vail National Championships twice, in 1982 and 1984. Peterson was inducted into the URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.
Peterson and his wife, Meredith, have two children, Tyler (19) and Sydney (18). The Peterson family resides in Bloomington with their dog, Emmy.
Wife: Meredith
Children: Tyler (19), Sydney (18)
College: University of Rhode Island (1985)
Individual Highlights
- CRCA National Head Coach of the Year (2014)
- USRowing Hall of Fame (2007)
- Two-time Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year (2023, 2024)
- Two-time Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year (2000, 2001)
- University of Rhode Island Hall of Fame (2000)
- U.S. Olympic Team member (1996)
- Seven-time U.S. National Team member (1989-1996)
- World Champion, lightweight double scull (1990)
- Vesper Cup Award (1990)
- Appearances in eight of last 10 NCAA Championships (2014-19, 2023-24)
- Becca Brougher and Maddie Pierce - won IU’s Spirit of Indiana Director's Award, the highest award given in Indiana University Athletics, making rowing the only team to have won the award twice (2016, 2019)
- 14 All-Americans and 48 All-Big Ten athletes during Indiana tenure
- CRCA National Staff of the Year (2014)
- CRCA Regional Staff of the Year (2015)
- Becca Brougher – First team All-America and IU Rowing’s first Big Ten Athlete of the Year (2016)
- Meradith Dickensheets – Indiana’s first two-time All-American (2014-15)
- Alice Wright – Indiana’s first Big Ten Freshman Rower of the Year (2014)
- Laura Feinson – Big Ten Athlete of the Year (2022) and two-time honorable mention All-American (2022-23)
- Nico Daly – Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first team All-Big Ten (2024)
- Katie Nelson & Annabel Oertel – Honorable mention All-Americans (2024)
- Emily Kasavana - Elvis J. Stahr Distinguished Senior Award, Lionel E. Edie Award, and Anita Aldrich Leadership Award Winner (2010)
- Coached U.S. Lightweight Women's National Team to silver medals (2000, 2001) and a 4th-place finish (2003) at World Championships
- Led U.S. Lightweight Women's National Team to silver and bronze medals at Pan American Games (1999)
- Guided George Washington to program’s only NCAA Championship appearance (1998)
Indiana University
2003-Present: Head Coach
George Washington University
1996-03: Head Women’s Coach/Director of Rowing
Rutgers University
1992-95: Men's Varsity Lightweight Coach
University of Rhode Island
1989-91: Head Coach
1986-87: Assistant Coach
US Women’s National Team
1999-03: Assistant Coach
Steve Peterson enters his 22nd season as the head coach of Indiana rowing. During Peterson’s tenure, the Hoosiers have risen to national prominence, appearing in the NCAA Rowing Championships eight of the last 10 full seasons, including a streak of six straight beginning from 2014-19 as well as back-to-back trips in 2023 and 2024.
Passionate about teaching and coaching, Peterson creates a positive environment for his athletes that encourages them to be fearless, competitive and to challenge themselves mentally and physically while highlighting the importance of being part of something bigger than themselves.
A Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Head Coach of the Year (2014), two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2023, 24) and Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year (2000, 2001), Peterson welcomes his 35th season as a coach in 2024. Through the years, he has coached 13 All-Americans (17 selections), 27 All-Region honorees, and 48 All-Big Ten selections. He has also mentored 12 athletes that have gone on to compete at the World Championships or Olympic Games. Academically, over 400 IU rowers have been named Academic All-Big Ten honorees, and more than 100 rowers have earned CRCA National Scholar-Athlete honors.
Peterson repeated as Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading the program to a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Championships for a second consecutive season. Nationally, the Hoosiers improved from a No. 17 national finish in 2023 to a No. 15 ranking in 2024. At the NCAA’s, Indiana’s Varsity Eight finished 14th, the boat’s top result since 2019, the 2V8 placed 16th and the Varsity Four came in 17th.
The Hoosiers second-place finish at the 2024 Big Ten Championships was boosted by an all-time best medal count. IU’s V8 finished one second out of first place to capture the silver medal spot for a second consecutive season. The Novice Eight also earned silver, while the 2V8 and V4 each posted bronze-medal performances.
2024 also saw grad transfer Bella Oertel and senior coxswain Katie Nelson become the program’s 11th and 12th All-Americans. In addition to those honors, senior Piper Maaka and freshman Nico Daly earned first-team All-Big Ten praise, followed by a pair of second teamers: senior Abbey Armstrong and Oertel. Daly was also named 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the second IU athlete to earn that honor (Alice Wright, 2014).
Prior to Indiana, Peterson served as the Head Women’s Coach and Director of Rowing at George Washington from 1996-2003. In 1998, he guided the GW team to the school’s only appearance in the NCAA Rowing Championships. Peterson also served as a U.S. Women’s National Team Assistant Coach from 1999-2003, overlapping his time at George Washington. His national team athletes won four silver medals and one bronze medal between the World Championships and Pan American Games.
In 1992, Peterson accepted the position of head coach for the varsity lightweight men's crew at Rutgers University, where he coached until 1995.
Peterson earned his first head coaching position at Rhode Island, where he served as an assistant from 1986-87 before taking the head role from 1989-91. While at URI, Peterson guided the Rams to victories at the New England Championships, Dad Vails, and Women's Eastern Sprints.
Peterson also has eight years of experience as a member of the USRowing High Performance Committee, which is responsible for planning and implementing the selection procedures and funding for the U.S. National and Olympic Teams.
As a rower, Peterson earned more than 50 championship medals during his rowing career. He competed for the U.S. National Team between 1989 and 1996, finishing among the top four in the world in the men's lightweight double and quadruple sculls on three separate occasions, and in the top ten during all seven of his years on the national team.
The highlight of his national team career came when his men's lightweight double scull won the world championship in 1990 in Tasmania, Australia, and he was inducted into the USRowing Hall of Fame as a member of that crew. For that performance, Peterson earned the 1990 Vesper Cup Award, presented annually to the U.S. National Team member for outstanding and inspirational achievement in international competition.
Peterson also rowed for the U.S. Olympic team in the men's lightweight double sculls at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, placing ninth, and is a seven-time U.S. National Team member.
A native of Cumberland, Rhode Island, Peterson is a 1985 graduate of the University of Rhode Island, where he earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and advertising. As a rower at URI, his lightweight eight crews won the Dad Vail National Championships twice, in 1982 and 1984. Peterson was inducted into the URI Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.
Peterson and his wife, Meredith, have two children, Tyler (19) and Sydney (18). The Peterson family resides in Bloomington with their dog, Emmy.
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