After nearly 37 years of part-time and full-time coaching at BYU, swimming and diving head coach Shari Skabelund has announced her retirement.

Skabelund has been the head coach of the BYU program since 2021. She started coaching at BYU as a part-time, women’s team assistant to coach Stan Crump in 1987, and other than taking a year off (1990-91) to have daughter Natalya, she has been with the Cougars ever since. After the men’s and women’s programs were combined under coach Tim Powers in 2008, Skabelund was invited to lead the Cougars’ sprint group.

This past season, Skabelund led the men’s team to a third-place finish in the Big 12 Conference and BYU’s first scoring finish at NCAA Nationals since 2016. She coached each of her four sprint relay squads to school record-breaking performances and three of them to NCAA championship entries.

“Shari has played a pivotal role in the success of BYU Swim for 37 years as a student-athlete, an assistant coach and as our head coach,” said Tom Holmoe, BYU director of athletics. “I’m so grateful for her tremendous career in which she mentored hundreds of her athletes to be their very best in and out of the pool.

Since 2008, under Skabelund’s tutelage, BYU swimmers have garnered more than 50 individual conference titles and 21 athletes have qualified for the NCAA championships.

Six of Skabelund’s swimmers qualified for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials: Brigham Harrison, Levi Jensen, Jared Shaw, Ryan Sorensen and Connor Stirling. Additionally, Josue Domiguez represented his home country of the Dominican Republic in Tokyo at the Olympic Games.

“When Stan Crump asked me to join his staff in 1987, I said, ‘No.’ He persisted, and it’s been a great run,” Skabelund said. “My life has been blessed by the student-athletes, my fellow coaches and the athletics-support staff who have become lifelong friends. I thank Elaine Michaelis for her trust, guidance and support. She and Stan championed my first priority: being a mother. I thank Tim Powers for asking me to stretch myself and work with sprinters. I’m grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the sport of swimming as it has grown and changed. It’s been a beautiful journey. Finally, I deeply appreciate my family for all of the support they’ve given me over the years. BYU Swim and Dive has experienced incredible progress during the past three years; I hope it can continue for many years to come.”

Before coaching for BYU, Skabelund was head coach of the girls’ and boys’ swim teams at Springville High School from 1982-87. There, she guided the girls’ squad to state 3A titles in 1985 and 1986.

Skabelund also served as a head club coach for the Springville Seals (1980-2004) and Utah Valley Aquatics (2004-2023). Three of her club swimmers, Brady Wells (2012), Tanner Nelson (2020) and Harrison (2020), have posted Olympic Trials qualifying times. Both Harrison and Nelson also swam under Skabelund at BYU.

Skabelund swam for BYU under coach Tim Powers before graduating in 1981. While competing for BYU as a student-athlete, she won Region 18 titles in the 100-yard individual medley (1978) and the 100-yard butterfly (1980) and qualified for the AIAW Nationals in 1978 and 1979. She was the first female swimmer at BYU to complete four years of eligibility.

Current BYU Assistant coach Tamber McAllister has been named the interim head coach while a national search is conducted.

Women’s soccer earns Sports Team of the Year

The BYU women’s soccer team has been named the 2024 State of Sport Team of the Year, as selected by a nominating committee made up of Utah’s sports professionals and media.

In 2012, the Utah Sports Commission in conjunction with the Governor created the State of Sport Awards to celebrate Utah’s sports industry and honor excellence on a high school, collegiate, professional, Olympic and Paralympic level.

BYU women’s soccer finished its first year in the Big 12 with an overall record of 20-3-3, going undefeated in conference play and at home on South Field. The Cougars advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the second time in the last three years.

BYU opened its season by beating then-No. 1 UCLA in week three and being named the No. 1 team nationally for the first time in program history. The Cougars’ offense continued to bring power to women’s soccer, reaching the No. 1 spot in both shots per game, with 20.96, and total goals on the year, with 79. The backline and goalkeepers racked up nine shutouts and a .761 save percentage.

The road to the College Cup was propelled by a historic 4-3 victory in the Elite Eight over the No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels. In this match, the Cougars scored four unanswered second-half goals to earn the largest comeback victory in NCAA Championships since 2003.

BYU had five seniors drafted in the 2024 NWSL Draft: Brecken Mozingo (4th overall pick), Olivia Smith-Griffitts (20th), Olivia Wade-Katoa (23rd), Jamie Shepherd (30th) and Laveni Vaka (55th). The returning Utah Royals drafted Mozingo and Smith-Griffitts, along with three other BYU soccer alum for their 2024 roster (Mikayla Cluff, Cameron Tucker and Michele Vasconcelos).

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