Stu Marvin enters his twelfth season as the head coach of the men's and women's swim teams at Bloomsburg University. The 2019-2020 season marks the 60th year of men’s swimming at Bloomsburg.
Under Marvin’s guidance the men have finished second at the conference championships in six of the past seven seasons, after not finishing above third place since 1968. For his efforts, Marvin was named PSAC Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year five times (2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019).
Since his arrival in 2008, ten swimmers have been named All-American, totalling 41 All-American awards. Fifteen have won 28 PSAC championships and 32 swimmers have been named PSAC All-Conference. All totaled, the men have garnered 184 All-Conference awards. The Huskies currently hold six PSAC Conference records and six PSAC Championship Meet records, after not owning either since the 1975 season. Every team record has been broken since Marvin’s arrival and his swimmers hold 197 of the 210 times on the BU All Time Top Ten list. Additionally, Bloomsburg posted its first-ever undefeated season in program history when it went a perfect 7-0 in 2016.
The BU men have also grabbed several post-season accolades. Sam Feiser was named PSAC Swimmer of the Year (2018) and PSAC Swimmer of the Meet (2018), while Jake Harner (2011) and Kyle Dix (2016) were both named PSAC Freshman of the Year. The Robert Redman Award recognizing Bloomsburg University’s Senior Athlete of the Year has gone to Juan Castaneda (2013), Jake Harner (2016), Eric Usbeck (2017) and Sam Feiser (2018). The Danny Litwhiler Award recognizing Bloomsburg University’s Underclass Athlete of the Year has gone to Castaneda (2011), Harner (2015), Feiser (2016, 2017), Colin Bauer (2018) and Kyle Dix (2019).
The 2018-2019 season saw the Huskies claim their sixth second-place finish at the PSAC championships in the past seven years. Kyle Dix lead the way by winning three PSAC titles in the 100 butterfly, 100 breaststroke and 400 freestyle relay. Other PSAC championships were won by Colin Bauer (200-400 freestyle relay), Collin Hummel (200-400 freestyle relay), Noah Cancro (200 freestyle relay), Colton Schnars (200 freestyle relay) and Jordan Wyant (400 freestyle relay). The season also saw the return of Penn State to the dual meet schedule after a 40-year hiatus. The Huskies secured another second-place finish at the Akron Invitational and ended the season with two team records by Schnars (200 backstroke) and Dix (100 butterfly). Dix advanced the NCAA championship for the third time in his career, swimming the 50 freesytle, 100 freestyle and 100 butterfly.
The 2017-2018 season featured Bloomsburg’s first-ever PSAC Men’s Swimmer of the Meet when Sam Feiser went a perfect “7 for 7” at the PSAC Championships with victories in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 100 butterfly, 200 butterfly, the 200 and 400 medley relays, and the 400 freestyle relay. Feiser advanced to his third NCAA championships where he captured his 8th career All-American award as part of the 400 freestyle relay. Several weeks later he was named the school’s first-ever recipient of the PSAC Men’s Swimmer of the Year award. The Huskies went 5-2 on the season and finished second at the PSAC championships for the fifth time in the past six years. Feiser was later named the university’s Senior Athlete of the Year, while sophomore Colin Bauer was named the university’s Underclass Athlete of the Year.
The 2016-17 campaign was the most successful since the program became a varsity sport in 1959. The men posted their first-ever undefeated season with a perfect 7-0 dual meet record. They added yet another second-place finish at the PSAC Championships and followed that with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Seven swimmers were named NCAA All-American and ten were named PSAC All-Conference. At the PSAC championships, the men won four of the five relays, along with three individual events. At the NCAA championships, they put three relays into the championship final, finishing second in the 200 free relay, third in the 200 free relay, and eighth in the 400 free relay. Senior All-American breaststroker, Eric Usbeck, won the consolation final and finished 9th in the 100 breaststroke. The 400 medley relay finished 10th, followed by junior All-American sprinter Sam Feiser, finishing 12th in the 50 free. For the season, the Huskies set six conference records and 11 team records. Eric Usbeck went on to win the Robert Redman Award as the university’s Senior Athlete of the Year, while Sam Feiser won the Danny Litwhiler Award as the university’s Underclass Athlete of the Year.
In the 2015-16 season, the Huskies posted a dual meet record of 7-2 while setting 14 school records and five conference records. They won three individual conference championships, along the 200 and 400 freestyle relays. Eight swimmers went on the represent Bloomsburg at the NCAA championships. Jake Harner led the way by finishing fifth in the 100 breaststroke and 10th in the 200 breaststroke, with Sam Feiser finishing 15th in the 50 free. The Huskies also advanced four relays to the consolation finals, winning two and finishing second and third in two others. Harner, Feiser, Ryan Paisley, A.J. Brady, Eric Usbeck, Kyle Dix, Josh Grzech all gained NCAA All-American honors. Senior Jake Harner qualified for the US Olympic Trials in Omaha, NE, swimming the 100 meter breaststroke.
In 2014-15, the Huskies posted a solid 6-2 dual meet record. Along the way, they established 12 team records and repeated as champions at the Akron Invitational in December, rolling up an incredible 1893 points.
In 2013-14, Marvin guided the BU men to the runner-up spot for the second straight year at the PSAC Championships where the Huskies set 15 of 19 school records and crowned an event champion when Jake Harner won the 200-IM title. The Huskies won their first-ever Zippy Invitational title at the University of Akron in December, topping a field that included several Division I schools. The team was ranked as high as 15th in the collegeswimming.com national poll and
In 2012-13, the Huskies' men's team finished second at the PSAC championships, achieving the team's best finish in 45 years. The last time a Bloomsburg men’s team finished that high at a conference championship was in 1968 when the Huskies hosted the meet at Centennial Pool. Freshman Jake Harner was named the PSAC Men's Freshman Swimmer of the Year, marking the first time in school history that a Bloomsburg swimmer earned a PSAC post-season award.
A 1978 graduate of Bloomsburg, Marvin returned to campus in 2008 after spending 30 years in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where he directed the operation of the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex at the International Swimming Hall of Fame. He also oversaw the operation of the Fort Lauderdale Beach Patrol, as well as numerous community pools around the city. Marvin was involved in coaching with the Fort Lauderdale Swim Team, and later with Fort Lauderdale Aquatics. He was also an administrator for the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) during their annual Swim Forum.
Marvin was an 11-time All-American performer for the Huskies swim team, winning five PSAC titles and establishing six conference records. He was a two-time winner of the school's Underclass Athlete of the Year award and received the Robert B. Redman Award as the school's Senior Athlete of the Year in 1978. He was the first swimmer inducted into the university's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1990. In 2002, Marvin received the prestigious Joseph G. Rogers Award for outstanding service to the YMCA National Swimming & Diving Committee. In addition to the BU Athletic Hall of Fame, he has been enshrined in three other Halls of Fame: the Florida Gold Coast Masters Hall of Fame (2005), the Broward County (FL) Sports Hall of Fame (2011) and the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Hall of Fame (2018). Marvin is a 2-time FINA Masters World Champion and former Masters world-record holder. He has won 28 United States Masters national championship titles and is a 13-time YMCA Masters national champion.
Marvin and his wife Meg reside in Bloomsburg and with their two boys, Robert (21) and Matthew (19) who are both students at the Bloomsburg University.
