John Mattos Last College: Colorado State Position: Head Coach Year: 31st

Contact information: jmattos@colostate.edu; 970/491-6026

Coach Mattos at a glance...

• Having guided the Colorado State women's swimming and diving program since 1980,announced his retirement on April 27, 2011, after 31seasons at the helm.
• Coached a six-time Olympic gold medalist (Amy Van Dyken) and 13 All-Americans, and took 66 student-athletes to the NCAA championships.
• Named NCAA Division I Coach of the Year after guiding the Rams to a 12th-place finish in the 1994 NCAA championships.
• Led the Rams to six conference championships and two regional crowns, as well as 25 individual championships.
• Was a conference champion and NCAA All-American finalist as a CSU student-athlete.

John Mattos, the Mountain West's 2009 Coach of the Year, tirelessly and passionately worked more than three decades to establish Colorado State's swimming and diving program among the best in the nation. He announced his retirement on April 27, 2011.

In 31years as head coach at Colorado State University, a magnificent tenure that began in 1980, Mattosguided athletes to 118 school records. He coached 13 All-Americans, nine honorable mention All-Americans and eight academic All-Americans, and took 66 student-athletes to the NCAA championships.

Mattos finished with 221 career dual-meet wins, more than any other coach in school history. He guided the Rams to 25 individual titles, two regional titles and six conference championships, the last one a WAC championship in 1996.

His past athletic and coaching accomplishments in Fort Collins led him to being selected to the CSU Athletic Hall of Fame in November of 2005. The success Mattos had at Colorado State earned him national recognition as well. He was named the NCAA Division I Coach of the Year in 1994 after he led his team to a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Division I Championships.

Mattos also earned international acclaim. He was an assistant coach for the U.S. world championship team that competed in Rome in 1994. Two years later he was the head coach of the National Junior Elite Training Camp team for Olympic development.

In 2004 he was selected to the short course U.S. world championship coaching staff that competed at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. It was the first swimming event to ever be held in portable pools, in a 20,000-seat venue. There were over 18,000 on hand to watch Saturday nights finals.

Mattos has also done many USA Swimming-sponsored Swimposiums to educate coaches nationally. Beginning in the summer of 1978, Mattosran his Rocky Mountain Swim Camps at Colorado State University every summer. The camps were kept small to give each young swimmer the stroke knowledge and mental motivation to help them further advance their athletic potential.

In 1996, he had the opportunity to watch one of his former All-Americans compete at the Olympics. Amy Van Dyken became the first female swimmer in history to win four gold medals in a single Olympics. Van Dyken returned to Fort Collins to train under Mattos and he was her personal coach for the 2000 summer games. Mattos was poolside when Van Dyken returned to the medal stand.

All the accomplishments for the Rams under Mattos haven't just been in the pool. His teams consistently performed well in the classroom as he emphasized the importance of education. Mattos believed that academic success directly correlates to their athletic success.

"Every time we have success academically, we have success in the pool," said Mattos. "I think that academics are directly related to performance. I really feel if the kids stay on-line in their classes, it relieves a certain mental stress that frees them to perform better athletically. If it's going well in the classroom, I can almost guarantee that it's going well in the pool."

Mattos' experience at Colorado State dated back even further than his31 years of coaching. He also had a tremendous amount of success as a student-athlete with the Rams. He was a conference champion and an NCAA All-American finalist in both the 100 and 200 Backstroke IM 1969 and 1970. He still holds the school record in the 100 Backstroke (52.72) which he set at the 1970 NCAA championships.

Along with his very supportive wife, Connie, Mattos has lived in Fort Collins since 1975. They have a 17-year-old daughter, Marissa, a 2011 Fossil Ridge High School graduate, headed to CSU. The family spends most of its free time outdoors, taking advantage of the opportunities in the region.

Career Record