Dave Salo takes on the role of an assistant coach at Arizona State, just four years after retiring from collegiate swimming. At the end of March 2020, the legendary coach stepped down as Southern California’s men’s and women’s head swimming coach, in his words, after spending “one-third of my life at USC.” Many swimmers who swam for Salo whether on the college team or his club team went on to become Olympians.

Salo will soon join the new head coach, Herbie Behm’s staff, after the 2024 Paris Olympics. Salo, 55, known for periodizing swimmers over time, expressed happiness at the warm acceptance and showed his excitement over a special present from ASU.

Dave Salo excited over welcome present from ASU!

Ahead of the 2024–25 season, Sun Devil Swim and Dive announced Dave Salo as their Associate Head Coach for both the men’s and women’s teams. Herbie Behm, the head coach, made the announcement. Along with Salo, the ASU team includes head diving coach Marc Briggs, Derek Schmitt, Logan Hirka, Austin Pillado, Alex Sherman, and Sam Iida. Recently, David Salo was seen in a video that Olympic coach and five-time Olympian Brett Hawke uploaded on X. Hawke inquired about a merch from Behm, to which Salo replied with a sly smile, “I got a new hat coming.”

Two years back, Salo announced his retirement from the University of Southern California despite spending 14 seasons as the program’s head coach from 2006 to 2020. Hence, questioning his recent step back to collegiate swimming, Brett Hawke questioned Salo, “What led to that?” To which Salo said, “I think Herbie is one of the brightest young coaches up and coming, and I would not have made a decision to go back into college coaching if it hadn’t been for Herbie.”

Salo will take on the new role for the 2024–25 season. What’s fascinating is that even Herbie Behm was all praises for the 2010 American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee, Salo. Behm referred to Salo as a swimming icon in his announcement, saying, “He’s a thinker who has pushed the sport forward for over 30 years and someone I’ve looked up to my entire career. I’m so lucky to be able to work with someone like Dave, and I know the team will be in great hands with his leadership.” So, how remarkable is the former USC head swimming coach’s portfolio?

Swimming legend enters ASU with stacked coaching resume

With Behm grooming a new generation of Arizona State sprinters and Salo being a longtime internationally recognized speedster coach, the future of ASU is already on the right path. In terms of experience, Dave Salo boasts a lengthy tenure as USC’s head coach, where he guided Trojan swimmers to 89 All-American titles in women’s swimming and diving and 76 in men’s, with a total of 22 individual and six relay championships. His teams achieved several top finishes; the women finished in the top 10 in the NCAA, while the men finished in the top eight.

Before joining USC, Salo was the head coach of Irvine Novaquatics from 1990 to 2006, during which he produced seven Olympic medalists and won the 2002 U.S. Swimming Coach of the Year honor. As a top national coach, he led the U.S. women at the 2013 and 2015 FINA World Championships and the U.S. men at the 2005 Worlds. He was also inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2010. Salo is recognized as a generational coach for his dedication to swimming, which has made him a sought-after coach for athletes all over the world.