Patnott
has coached 115 All-Americans and had national champions 30 times
during his 30-year Hope career.
He has also had 38 Academic All-Americans since 1984.
Both Hope teams
are annually competitive in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
(MIAA) and at
the NCAA Division III national championship meet. He has coached Hope
teams to 29 conference championships -- 19 by the women and 10 by
the men. In terms of total conference championships won (29), he is
the winningest active MIAA coach in any sport.
Patnott was raised in the San Francisco
Bay area where he swam competitively at the high school, YMCA and AAU
levels. He earned the bachelor and master of arts degrees from California
State University at Fresno and received the doctoral degree from the
University of Utah in 1989. He lettered two years on the Fresno varsity
swimming team, serving as team captain in 1969. As a senior he was
voted the team's most inspirational swimmer.
Patnott was an assistant coach at California
State University in Fresno while working toward his degree and was
a full-time instructor and the head swimming coach from 1972-77. Prior
to coming to Hope, he was head coach of the varsity swimming and water
polo teams at Bullard High School in Fresno and the advanced team coach
of the Fresno Swim Club. Bullard was undefeated, winning its league
title and section meet. A professor of kinesiology at Hope, Patnott
in 2003 was named the recipient of the Provost's Award for Excellence
in Teaching in recognition of demonstrated excellence in specific activities
or aspects of teaching.
Patnott and his wife Phyllis have three
children.
Hope
Swimming and Diving History
Three
times in his career he has been voted the NCAA Division III national
Coach-of-the-Year by the College Swimming Coaches Association. He was
named the men's national Coach-of-the-Year in 1991 and the women's national
Coach-of-the-Year in 1994 and 1998.