Chris O'Linger - Men's Swimming and Diving Coach - Grand Canyon University Athletics

Chris O'Linger

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
christopher.olinger@gcu.edu

Chris O'Linger enters his seventh season in 2024-25 as the associate head coach after a six-year stint with the University of Incarnate Word in San Antonio as its assistant head coach (2017-18), assistant coach (2013-17) and graduate assistant (2012-13).

O'Linger helped the Lopes take second in both the men's and women's competition's for two straight years, something that had never been accomplished prior to last season. He also helped freshman distance swimmer (Vivi Criscione) take bronze along with a total of four distance points in one day at WAC.

In his fifth season, O'Linger assisted in coaching the Lopes to their best combined finish in program history where the Lopes finished second in both the men's and women's Western Athletic Conference Championships. At the conference championships, the Lopes accounted for two WAC records, six team records, eighteen NCAA B Cuts, thirty podium finishes, twelve gold medals, eleven silver medals, seven bronze medals, 138 personal best times.

O'Linger played a pivotal role in the growth of the Incarnate Word swimming and diving program as it transitioned from Division II to Division I in the fall of 2013. In their final year in Division II, the Cardinals place third for men and fourth for women at the Division II NCAA Championships.

During his time in San Antonio, he helped lead the development training and performance program for middle-distance, endurance and distance training groups at Incarnate Word. O'Linger developed his student-athletes in the pool and the classroom. He served as an academic contact, study hall monitor, life skills liaison and adjunct professor of kinesiology. He also helped pioneer a post-graduate and professional program to actualize the dreams of the most successful athletes in gaining exposure for international recruiting. Schaffer is very excited to bring in O'Linger and his wide range of skills and years of experience.

O'Linger, a Tampa, Fla., native, received his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Tampa in 2011 and swam for the Spartans from 2007 to 2011. His success as a coach correlates to his accomplishments as a college swimmer, as he was a 22-time Division II All-American across nine different events, while breaking six conference records and seven school records. O'Linger was a four-time U.S. Open Finalist and an Amateur Athletic Union Joel Ferrell Outstanding Performance Memorial Award recipient. He was also elected team captain for the 2010-11 season.

O'Linger received his Master of Arts in Multidisciplinary Studies with an emphasis in Kinesiology and Sports Management from Incarnate Word in 2014. He resides in Phoenix and has two children, Cooper and Vivienne.