Gettysburg College Athletics

Mike Rawleigh begins his 34th season as the head coach of Gettysburg College's swimming teams in 2018-19.

Rawleigh has engraved his name as one of the top swimming mentors in the country. Over the last three decades, he has led Gettysburg to 42 total conference titles and an incredible dual meet record of 534-100-2 (.841 winning percentage). He has led both men’s and women’s programs to multiple appearances on the national stage and has coached a total of 51 All-Americans. 
 
Since the Centennial Conference formed in 1993-94, the Bullet men and women have claimed 29 of 48 team championships – 15 for the men and 14 for the women. Compounded on that number is a combined 378-67 (.849) dual meet record over the past 24 seasons, including 309-32 (.906) against conference foes. He has been named the CC Men’s Coach of the Year five times (2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18) and CC Women’s Coach of the Year in 2010-11.
 
The men’s team claimed its 15th conference title in 2017-18 after beating the field by over 300 points. Ty Dougherty ’18 was named the Outstanding Performer of the championship meet for the second time in three seasons and represented the eighth men’s competitor to earn the award under Rawleigh. He has coached four CC Most Outstanding Performers on the women’s side.
 
Despite the graduation of three of the top swimmers in program history, Rawleigh guided the men’s program to its sixth-straight CC crown in 2015-16. The team claimed titles in five events and Dougherty was tagged Outstanding Performer. In 2014-15, Rawleigh led the men's team to its fifth-consecutive Centennial Conference title. The team also went undefeated in dual meets and went on to finish 12th at the NCAA Division III Championship, tying the top national finish in program history.

From 2007 to 2013, Rawleigh coached the women’s team to six Centennial crowns, including joining the men’s team with three straight from 2011-13. In 2011, the women won six events at the conference meet and Rawleigh was tabbed CC Coach of the Year. The Gettysburg women posted a perfect dual record (9-0) in 2011-12.
 
Rawleigh spearheaded a dominating display in the early years of the Centennial. From 1995 to 2003, the Bullets combined to win 14 of 16 team championships. The men’s team lost only twice to conference foes, while the women were perfect against CC competition in eight of nine campaigns. 

Rawleigh’s coaching success goes well beyond the years Gettysburg has competed in the Centennial Conference. The Bullets won 13 combined Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) team championships from 1986 to 1993. The women recorded four consecutive top-10 showings at the NCAA Division III Championship from 1989 to 1992, finishing as high as seventh in 1990. The women’s team set a program record for victories with perfect 12-0 marks in 1987-88 and 1989-90. During his time coaching in the MAC, Rawleigh guided the Bullets to conference titles in 84 events.
 
The men’s team has posted seven undefeated dual meet seasons (1997-98, 7-0; 1998-99, 8-0; 2000-01, 8-0; 2001-02, 8-0; 2011-12, 8-0, 2013-14, 9-0; 2014-15, 9-0), while the women have been perfect 11 times (1987-88, 12-0; 1989-90, 12-0; 1991-92, 11-0; 1992-93, 11-0; 1995-96, 10-0; 1997-98, 8-0; 1998-99, 9-0; 1999-00, 9-0; 2002-03, 9-0; 2007-08, 10-0; 2011-12, 9-0). Overall in dual meet action, Rawleigh has led the women to a record of 293-35-2 (.891) and the men to a mark of 241-64 (.788).

Rawleigh has coached the Bullets to All-America status in 115 events over the last three decades. Among the program’s all-time greats to swim for him includes two-time national champion and former 500-yard freestyle record holder Lynne Cassidy ’92. Cassidy remains the most decorated student-athlete in school history with 25 All-America awards and she was inducted into the College’s Hall of Athletic Honor in 2002.

Rawleigh, a native of High Point, N.C., has been recognized by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) and the South Central chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame for outstanding coaching achievements while at Gettysburg. In 1995, the CSCAA presented Rawleigh with its Master Coach Award.

Prior to Gettysburg, Rawleigh was the assistant swim coach for three seasons at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, helping the Tar Heel men and women to a total of three team titles in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He was a sprinter on UNC’s swim team before graduating in 1975. In between his stints in Chapel Hill, Rawleigh served as head coach of the Clinton YMCA Swim Club in Clinton, S.C., and head coach of the High Point Swim Club in his hometown.
 

Career Coaching Record (Men's Swimming)