GOLDEN, Colo. – The support of the Colorado School of Mines administration and a national search over the summer has allowed Mines Swimming Head Coach Claire McDaniel to add Joel White to her staff as a fulltime assistant heading into the 2023-24 season.
 
White had served as a part time coach for the Orediggers since 2019, helping Mines' men and women produce 19 all-American finishes at the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships along with numerous All-RMAC swims, pool records, program records along the way.
 
"I want to thank Head Coach Claire McDaniel, Director of Athletics David Hansburg, and the Mines administration for this opportunity," White said. "I'm just really excited for this year. Claire and I are going to be able to do so much more than we already have as we continue to elevate this program on the national stage while mentoring and coaching high-performing, STEM student-athletes."
 
Now, in the newly-formed fulltime role, White brings an extensive and impressive resume including stops at the University of Texas, University of Utah, Notre Dame, and University of Denver. His time with those programs included four NCAA All-Americans, 11 qualifiers for the U.S. Olympic Trials, numerous qualifiers for the NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships, and multiple conference titles across the country.
 
"I'm grateful to David (Hansburg), Vice President of Student Life Dr. Braelin Pantel, and Colorado School of Mines President Dr. Paul Johnson for their continued support of the men's and women's swimming teams," said Coach McDaniel. "We are extremely lucky to have someone with Joel's relevant background and experience here at Mines. His passion for swimming balanced with his ability to make it fun on the pool deck are just a few of the strengths that make Coach White a perfect fit for the program."
 
With a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and four years of competitive collegiate swimming at University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, White started his coaching career with the University of Texas Swim Camp. After coming on as a camp counselor, he was made an assistant coach, a position nobody outside of the Longhorns' NCAA staff has ever held. Under that title, White supervised the counseling staff during all activities, designed classroom sessions on technique, coached dry-land workouts for 85 athletes at a time, and had the opportunity to learn from legendary Olympic and UT men's coach Eddie Reese for three years.
 
White's time at the University of Texas pushed him on to the University of Utah where he served as an assistant swim coach and also earned his master's degree in sports psychology. His tenure with the Utes from 2003-05 saw the then-Mountain West Conference program produce three individual qualifiers for the NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships – the first national qualifiers in nine years. Utah also won its first conference title as White not only coached and developed swimming and dry-land workouts for all groups, but also coordinated recruiting of national and international athletes.
 
After his stop in Salt Lake City, White took a position as an assistant swimming coach for the women's team at the University of Notre Dame. Following White's arrival in South Bend, Ind., the Irish experienced a turnaround in a team culture that saw Notre Dame's women finish as high as #25 in the nation at the NCAA Division I Swimming & Diving Championships to go along with four Big East Conference titles. Furthermore, from 2005-09, White helped develop three NCAA All-Americans, qualified 11 student-athletes for the U.S. Olympic Trials, and even served as the Interim Women's Swimming Head Coach in 2008. His brief time at the helm included a top-eight finish at the US Open for the first time in nearly a decade.
 
White's last collegiate coaching role before landing at Mines was an assistant position at the University of Denver from 2009-12. It was there he got to know Coach McDaniel as the duo helped the Pioneers stack up a plethora of accolades. Among the awards and honors were DU's first female NCAA All-American, back-to-back men's and women's Sunbelt Conference crowns, and the highest men's team grade-point average in all of NCAA Division I.
 
In addition to collegiate coaching, White also coached multiple years at the club swimming level. He is married with two daughters as well. He and his family reside in Golden.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines swimming on Twitter at @minesswimming. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.