Dale Rothenberger completed his 40th season as head coach of Hartwick College's Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving programs in 2024-2025. In addition to his coaching duties, he is the Director of Aquatics and a lecturer in the Physical Education Department.
During the 2024-2025 season, Rothenberger once again led the men's and women's teams to the Empire 8 Championships, with both teams placing second out of five teams.
In the 2023-2024 season, the men were 8-2 and the women 4-6. The men finished first for both Empire 8 and Allegheny Empire Championships, making this Dale’s 6th E8 win. The women finished in second place at the E8 Championships and in fourth place at the Allegheny Empire Championships. The men were able to secure fifteen All-Conference spots and the women secured eighteen. In addition, Courtney Pierce was named both the Female Swimmer of the Meet & Year at the E8 Championships, Michael Schultz was named Male Swimmer of the Meet at the E8 Championships and the Empire 8 Swimming & Diving Men’s Swimmer of the Year. Hassan Abdelwahed and Cate Russo were both named Empire 8 Rookie of the Year. Brady Haraden and Meghan Geczy both received Empire 8 Sportsperson of the Year acknowledgements for their leadership and sportsmanship throughout the 2023-24 season. Jack Armstrong was also named Diver of the Meet at the E8 Championships and Diver of the Year for Empire 8.
The Hartwick College Swimming & Diving program has had a multitude of successes over its 46-year history. Swimmer Lisa Scudder earned the first All-American honors for the program in 1977, while Bethany Carter and William Hopkins became the second ones to do so in 1983.
The program has had only five head coaches since 1976, and it was under the direction of current head coach Dale Rothenberger, that the Hartwick Hawks swimming and diving program became one of the nation’s best. Rothenberger has coached the Hawks swimming and diving teams for 39 years (1985-present).
During his career, Coach Dale has amassed 639 wins, posting 348 wins with the men’s program and 291 wins mark with the women. His squads posted six Empire 8 Conference Championships, three UNYSCSA Championships, three ECAC Championships and finished in the top-50 at NCAA Championships sixteen times. During his tenure, Hartwick’s Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving programs have registered eight finishes among the top 25 at the NCAA Division III Championships. He has coached 48 men’s and women’s All-Americans, including Susan Torrell (‘92), a two-time National Champion at the 1990 Division III Championships.
Hartwick College men’s swimming and diving took home four straight Empire 8 Championships (1991-94) for a total of six Empire 8 team championships under his watch and back-to-back UNYSCSA Championships (1992, 1993). Rothenberger is a five-time recipient of the UNYSCSA Coach of the Year Award. He earned these honors in 1991, 1993, 2000, 2006, and 2012. On the women's side, Rothenberger also is a three-time recipient of the New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year Award. He earned these honors following the 1996, 2000, and 2001 state meets. Rothenberger also received the 2004 and 2024 Empire 8 Coach of the Year Award after leading the Hawks to the league title.
Rothenberger received his bachelor's degree in physical education, recreation and health from West Chester University in 1979 and a master's degree in exercise physiology from Slippery Rock University in 1987. During his undergraduate days, Rothenberger was a four-year letterman in both swimming and water polo at West Chester. As a Golden Ram, he was a four-time NCAA Division II qualifier and a two-time swimming All-American in 1978 and in 1979. At the time of his graduation, Rothenberger left holding several WCU school records. He also participated in many water polo tournaments as an all-star player and coach.
Rothenberger has coached U.S. Swimming age group teams, as well as high school teams in Pennsylvania and in New York. He has coached several U.S.S. Junior and Senior national qualifiers, U.S.S. Eastern Zone Championship finalists, as well as Empire State Games title winners. Rothenberger's athletic resume includes participating in three Hawaiian Ironman Triathlon World Championships (1987,1988, 1992). He received TriFed All-American status in the 30-34 age group for his triathlon performances.
