Jacy Dyer Returns to Toledo as Head Coach of Alma Mater
Jacy Dyer has returned to her alma mater to lead the women’s swimming and diving team, the university announced last week.
Dyer was a four-time All-MAC pick and Toledo’s first MAC Swimmer of the Year in a stellar career that culminated in 2011. After various coaching stops in college and internationally, the Varsity T Hall of Famer is back to lead the Rockets program.
“I am so excited to be heading back home to my alma mater,” Dyer said in a university statement. “I am grateful to have this opportunity to lead the program that has had a significant impact on who I am today. I’d like to thank Bryan Blair and (Executive Associate Athletic Director) Nicole Alderson for making this happen. I can’t wait to lead this team and help make their experience at Toledo an impactful one. Go Rockets!”
Dyer was the 2010 MAC Swimmer of the Year and 2010 UT Female Athlete of the Year.. A 10-time MAC champion and 16-time medalist at the conference meet, she’s the only Toledo swimmer to qualify for the NCAA Championships in three separate events. She also swam at the 2012 U.S Olympic Trials.
Dyer spent the last two seasons as the head coach of the men’s and women’s programs at Fairfield University. She previously spent four-year stints as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech (2018-22) and James Madison (2014-18).
The MAAC Coach of the Year in 2023, she led the Stags women’s team to the league title in 2023, with the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet (Erini Pappas). The women were the conference runner-up and the men finished fourth in 2024, Dyer getting a second coach of the year nod.
Dyer was first an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Virginia Tech before being promoted to associate head coach. In 2021-22, the Hokies men’s team tied for the best NCAAs finish in program history (11th) with their first individual national champion (Youssef Ramadan), while the women were 23rd for their third-best finish ever.
Dyer served as the head coach for the U.S. women’s team at the 2023 World University Games.
“We are thrilled to welcome Jacy back to the University of Toledo,” director of athletics Bryan B. Blair said. “Often in head coach searches, you are looking for the right fit. In Jacy, we found one of our own who is a championship-winning Division I head coach with a national reputation as one of the industry’s rising stars. The future of Toledo Swimming and Diving is incredibly bright, and we are excited to have Jacy at the helm.”
