MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine University Athletics Department mourns the passing of former women's swimming and diving head coach Nick Rodionoff, a 1975 International Swimming and Diving Hall of Famer whose affiliation with the Pepperdine program spanned four decades, who died on Friday at the age of 87.  Service information will be provided when it is available.

"It is truly a sad day for Pepperdine Swim and Dive," said Director of Athletics Steve Potts.  "Nick loved our program and every student-athlete he coached like no one else could.  We pray for God's comfort, peace and blessing for Carrie and the entire Rodionoff family."

Service information will be provided when it is available.  In honor of Nick, the family has requested that those who are able, please make a donation to the Nick and Carrie Rodionoff endowed fund.  If interested, please reach out to Jimmy Gehrels at james.gehrels@pepperdine.edu. 

"Nick welcomed me to this role with open arms and nothing but support and encouragement," said current Pepperdine swimming and diving head coach Ellie Monobe.  "He provided me with the best head coaching transition a rising assistant could ever dream of.  I am still incredibly humbled and honored to have known him and only wish I had met him sooner.  Nick will be dearly missed by past and present student-athletes, but his legacy will forever be remembered by future swim & dive Waves."

Rodionoff spent 18 seasons at the helm of the Pepperdine swimming and diving program (2000-2018) and used his leadership to elevate the Waves to a highly competitive level.  His tenure with the program runs parallel with the success of divers and swimmers he had coached on the high school and collegiate levels.
"Swimming and diving, the Pepperdine community and the coaching world has lost a giant," said Pepperdine men's volleyball head coach emeritus and longtime friend of Rodionoff Marv Dunphy.  "Coaches, athletes and people in general cherished being around Nick because of his brilliance, mostly his abundance of common sense, what he stood for and that they knew that he cared so deeply.  He was solid in every way, tough and at the same time a kind teddy bear.  Kindness is the highest form of wisdom and Nick was kind."
 
Since taking over as head coach prior to the 2000-01 season, Rodionoff guided the Waves to 14 top-five finishes at the Pacific Collegiate Swim & Dive Conference Championships.  In 2008, Pepperdine had its best-ever finish under Rodionoff and tied the then-best finish in school history with a second-place result.  Rodionoff was named PCSC Coach of the Year after the 2002 and 2009 campaigns.  He guided seven women to 12 conference titles and four to six NCAA Championship berths.  He led Jessica Mosbaugh to back-to-back PCSC Division I Swimmer of the Year titles in 2014 and 2015 and six to PCSC Division I Diver of the Year honors: Michelle Barker (2002), Amanda Pond (2009), Tiffany Martz (2011), Kristin Scribner (2012), Klair Korver (2013) and Sydney Newman (2014).

Rodionoff's teams had a long-standing academic tradition at Pepperdine and routinely were awarded CSCAA All-Academic Team status semester after semester.  A member of the swimming and diving team had been voted Pepperdine's Scholar-Athlete of the Year three times: Jessell Owens (2011), Korver (2012) and Brook Fugate (2013). 

Rodionoff first came onto the Pepperdine scene 1974 to coach the men's diving team and in 1987 he established the women's program, which went undefeated for five years.  Prior to coming to Malibu, he served as the diving coach to nearby UCLA from 1964-74.

At the high school level, Rodionoff was recognized as one of the top coaches across the country after serving 33 years as the head boys' and girls' swimming and diving coach at Birmingham High School, located in Van Nuys, Calif.  His prep resume boasts 31 league championships, a record of 10 Los Angeles City Section boys' championships and four girls' championships.  His teams compiled an astonishing dual meet record of 324-3 (.991) and he coached 36 high school All-Americans before retiring in February 1997.  In 1999, the new Birmingham High School pool was named in his honor.

In addition to his International Hall of Fame induction, Rodionoff was inducted into the National High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004.  At the time, he is one of only two swimming coaches to have received the honor.  Rodionoff is the only coach in the United States to have coached national champions in both swimming and diving and also guided the women's national relay team to a 200 freestyle record.

A top choice for an Olympic coach, Rodionoff was honored in 1999 as the recipient of the Fred A. Cady Memorial Coaches Award. The award is presented biannually to coaches who have dedicated 25 or more years to diving, while developing outstanding talent in the U.S. National Diving program and international competition, including the Olympic Games.

Rodionoff also taught for the Los Angeles Unified School District for 39 years. In addition to his teaching and coaching career, he was also an accomplished photographer, known for his images of the Malibu area.

A 1957 graduate of Occidental College, Rodionoff was a three-year standout who participated in diving, football and track and field. He captured the conference diving title in his senior year of competition.