USC Men's Swimming & Diving National Champions
1960 Champions
The 1960 NCAA Title squad, under legendary coach Peter Daland, captured the first ever crown for USC with 87 points, 14 points ahead of Michigan.
USC, led by team captain Fred Tissue, finished out a 5-0 season with five individual NCAA titles. Chatlles Bittick took the 100y and 200y back while teammate Lance Larson touched first in the 200y IM. Tom Winters won the 220y free and Dennis Rounsavelle picked up a crown in the 440y free (now discontinued events). Troy also picked up a crown in the 400y free relay with Donald Redington, Robert Mounton, Larson and Henrichs touching first.
1963 Champions
The 1963 NCAA Title team, led by coach Peter Daland, secured the schools second-ever NCAA crown, edging out North Carolina State by four points.
After two consecutive years finishing second at the Championships, USC won four individual titles to secure the crown. Per Ola Lindberg took the 100y free while teammate Bob Bennett secured the 100y back title. John Konrads won two crowns at the championships, taking the 500y and 1,650y free.
Captained by John House, USC earned nine All-American honors and finished the season 10-0.
1964 Champions
The 1964 NCAA Title team, led by coach Peter Daland, earned back-to-back NCAA crowns after winning seven individual and one relay title at the championships.
Captained by James Corfman and Brian Foss, Troy finished the season 7-0, winning the National title by 5 points. USC’s Bill Craig took the 100y and 200y breast while Roy Saari picked up three titles in the 500y free, 1,650y free and 200y IM. Trojans Bob Bennett (100y back) and Rich McGeagh (400y IM) also earned individual crowns. USC won the 400y Medley with Bob Bennett, Craig, Jim McGrath and Saari championing the podium finish.
Troy had 10 All-Americans in 1964 including Foss, Kenneth Doesburg, Michael Caretto, and Corfman.
1965 Champions
The USC 1965 Title team, under coach Peter Daland, captured the 1965 NCAA crown for the third consecutive year with 285 points, 6.5 points ahead of Iowa State.
After completing a 9-0 season, captained by Robert Bennett, Troy won four individual titles at the 1965 Championships. Roy Saari earned three crowns, taking the 200y free, 500y free and 1,650y free. Bill Craig took the 100y breast, defending his NCAA crown in the event. The Trojans finished out the Championship season with 15 All-American honors.
1966 Champions
The USC 1966 NCAA Title team, under coach Peter Daland, featured a powerhouse team that won the NCAA crown for the fourth consecutive year.
USC finished out a 13-0 season led by team captain Roy Saari who earned crowns in the 200y, 500y and 1,650y free. Teammate Wayne Anderson championed the 200y breast, posting a 2:14.24. The Trojans secured the title with a 400y free relay crown (John Gilchrist, John Lambert, Ken Krueger, Saari).
1974 Champions
The 1974 NCAA Men’s Title team, under head coach Peter Daland, finished out a 6-0 season with the first NCAA crown for Troy in 8 years. USC won by a margin of only 1 point, edging out Long Beach State to take the title.
Jack Tingley won the 1,650y free, capturing the fifth individual title in the event for Troy. Joe Bottom took the 100y free and John Naber won crowns in the 500y free, 100y back and 200y back. Stephen Furniss touched first in the 200y and 400y IM, helping USC capture a total of seven individual titles and 16 All-American honors.
1975 Champions
The 1975 NCAA Men’s Title team, led by coach Peter Daland, captured a second consecutive NCAA crown, winning by a margin of 70 points.
Powerhouse John Naber defended his individual NCAA crowns in the 500y free,100y back and 200y back. Joe Bottom championed the 50y free and Troy captured a 400y medley relay title with combined efforts from Naber, Mark Chatfield, Bottom and Scott Findorff.
The Trojans racked up 16 All-American honors during the 1975 season, leading Daland to receive the prestigious “National AAU Swimming Award,” given to the person who has contributed most to swimming.
1976 Champions
The 1976 NCAA Men’s Title team, under legendary coach Peter Daland, won the third consecutive NCAA crown for USC with 398 points, outscoring Tennessee by a margin of 161 points.
At the championships, Trojans Rod Strachan, Steve Furniss and Scott Brown completed a USC sweep in the 400y IM, finishing 1-2-3, with teammate Dave Hannula touching fifth. Troy also picked up a 400y medley relay crown (John Naber, Bob Shearin, Mike Bottom, Joe Bottom) and an 800y free relay title (Naber, Richard Hannula, Findorff, Furniss.)
Daland’s Trojan swimmers went on to do exceptionally well on the international scene, highlighted by seven gold and two silver medals at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal - more than any other country except the United States.
1977 Champions
The 1977 NCAA Title team, under legendary coach Peter Daland, featured a powerhouse team, arguably the best that ever was, that won the 1977 NCAA crown by 181 points, a margin untouched for 15 years.
During the championships, USC won eight titles including two by Olympic gold medalist John Naber (as he completed four-year sweeps of the 100y and 200y back, unmatched until this season), wins in the 50y free and 100y fly by Olympic silver medalist Joe Bottom (third straight 50 title), a 200y free victory by Olympic gold medalist Bruce Furniss (he won again in 1978) and a 400y IM repeat title by Olympic gold medalist Rod Strachan.
Troy also won the 400y free relay (Olympic silver medalist Steve Pickell, Mike Greenwood, Furniss, Naber) and the 800y free relay (Furniss, Greenwood, Scott Findorff, Joe Bottom). The Trojans had 15 All-American first teamers on the team that also included Scott Brown, Bob Tierney, Scott Findorff, Kirt Fredericks, Mike Nyeholt, Ron Orr, Mike Bottom, Dick Hannula and Bob Shearin.
