Patrick Rowan

Coaching Experience

• Nebraska Associate Head Coach (2012-Present)
• Missouri Assistant Coach (2007-12)
• Nebraska Volunteer Assistant Coach (2006-07)
• Nebraska Aquatics Head Coach (2002-07)

Swimming Experience

• Eastern Michigan Swimmer (1996-00)
• 12-Time MAC Finalist
• Two-Time MAC Team Champions
• Two-Time Nebraska Class A State Champion

Patrick Rowan is in his 13th season as Nebraska’s associate head coach, helping the Huskers continue to build a nationally competitive women’s swimming and diving program.

In 2023-24, Nebraska claimed a top-30 finish at the NCAA Championships, with  Gena Jorgenson becoming the first Husker swimmer to be named a First-Team All-American since 2001. With a 15:55.71 in the mile to place eighth overall, Jorgenson is now the fastest miler in school history by 19 seconds. After her sophomore season, Jorgenson owns six school records. JoJo Randby joined Jorgenson at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials after the 2024 season. Rowan helped coach the Huskers to an eighth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Maia Hall led the way with a pair of fifth-place finishes in the 100 and 200 breaststroke to pitch in 50 team points. Jorgenson added a fifth-place finish in the 1650 freestyle and a 10th-place finish in the 500 freestyle at the conference meet.

During the 2022-23 season, Rowan coached Jorgenson to an NCAA qualification, while posting a school record time in the mile during the season. In 2021-22, Autumn Haebig took her fourth trip to nationals, competing in the 100 freestyle, the 200 freestyle and the 500 freestyle. She notched a top-25 finish in the 200 freestyle, after swimming to sixth in the event at the conference meet.

In 2020-21, Rowan helped guide Nebraska to its best finish since 2001, placing 26th at the NCAA Championships. Haebig put herself in the Husker record books by capturing All-America honors in both the 200 free (9th) and 500 free (14th) at the NCAA Championships. She became the first Husker swimmer to earn more than one All-America award at nationals since 2001. Audrey Coffey joined Haebig at the NCAA Championships and just missed All-America honors after finishing 19th in the 1,650-yard freestyle in a school-record time of 16:14.19.

Haebig and Coffey also helped lead a strong performance by the Big Red at the 2021 Big Ten Championships. The Huskers produced their best Big Ten finish since joining the conference in 2011-12, while Haebig captured Nebraska’s first-ever Big Ten individual gold medal with her win in the 200 freestyle. She also became the first Husker swimmer to win All-Big Ten honors.

In 2019-20, Rowan helped three Husker swimmers earn CSCAA All-America honors with school-record-setting performances by Haebig (200 free), Coffey (1,000 free) and Madison Coughlen (200 fly). 

Rowan, who returned to Nebraska after spending five years as an assistant coach at Missouri, helped the Tigers become one of the nation’s top-15 programs during his time in Columbia (2008-12).

The graduate of Lincoln Southeast High School and former Husker volunteer assistant coach returned to the Big Red for the 2012-13 season and has helped the Huskers produce five consecutive top-40 team finishes at the NCAA Championships.

“Patrick brings extensive and successful coaching and recruiting experience at the collegiate level,” Nebraska Coach Pablo Morales said. “Patrick has a tremendous work ethic and an unmatched passion for Nebraska. He has made a major impact on our program and plays a key role in helping us achieve our Big Ten Conference and NCAA goals.”

In Rowan’s first eight seasons at Nebraska, Husker swimmers set 23 school records across all events, and those records kept falling in 2021-22.

In 2017-18, Rowan helped Haebig, a 14-time Wisconsin high school state champion, earn her first trip to the NCAA Championships as a true freshman. Haebig, who finished 10th in the 100 backstroke and 12th in the 200 freestyle at the 2018 Big Ten Championships, closed her season with a 40th-place NCAA finish in the 100 back. She added a 43rd-place showing in the 500 free at the NCAA meet. Haebig set career bests in all three of those events late in the season at either the Big Ten Championships or the NCAA Last Chance meet.

In 2018, SwimSwam.com ranked the Nebraska swimming and diving program No. 1 in the nation for recruiting, retention and improvement among all NCAA Division I women’s programs. In 2017-18, the Husker swimmers produced 26 NCAA B qualifying standards, which represented an increase in that total for the sixth consecutive season for Nebraska.

In 2016, six Huskers qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, while two more international swimmers qualified for their trials. In 2016-17, Erin Oeltjen set a school record in the 100 and 200-yard backstroke, while Dana Posthuma notched the second-best time in school history in the 200-yard butterfly (1:58.16).

In 2014-15, Rowan guided the 200-yard freestyle relay to the second-best time in school history at the Big Ten Championships. 

In Rowan’s second season at NU (2013-14), he helped 14 swimmers to personal bests in the sprint freestyle events. 
Rowan served as Nebraska’s primary sprint freestyle coach in 2012-13. He saw the 200- and 400-yard freestyle relay teams swim school-record times at the 2013 Big Ten Championships. Taryn Collura swam a school record in the 50-yard freestyle and became the first Husker to qualify for the NCAA Championships in six years. 

A Nebraska native, Rowan helped orchestrate a steady rise into national prominence at Missouri. In his first season at MU, Rowan helped the Tiger women’s team finish 38th at the 2008 NCAA Championships. After a 28th-place showing in 2009, the Tigers climbed to 23rd in 2011 before finishing 14th at the 2012 NCAA meet.

Rowan served as the power sprints coach while also working with the middle distance group at Missouri. He was the recruiting coordinator for the Tiger men’s program while assisting with recruiting on the women’s side. The Tiger men’s 2011 recruiting class was ranked seventh nationally by collegeswimming.com, while the women’s class was ranked 18th. He served as the director of the Mizzou Swim Camp and coached the Mizzou Swim Team (USA Swimming Club).

In addition to serving as a volunteer assistant at Nebraska in 2006-07, Rowan was a long-time coach in the Nebraska Aquatics program.

From 2002 until 2007, Rowan served as the head coach and general manager of the Nebraska Aquatics swim team, where he was the primary coach of the high school and collegiate swimmers. He also served as an age group coach for swimmers from ages 6 to 24 for Nebraska Aquatics from 2000 to 2002.

From 2003 to 2007, he served as the age group chairman for the Midwestern Swimming Executive Board. He was named Midwestern Swimming Coach of the Year in 2006-07, after being named its Age Group Coach of the Year in 2004-05. 

A competitive swimmer from 1985 to 2001, Rowan swam collegiately at Eastern Michigan, helping EMU to a pair of Mid-American Conference championships. Individually, he was a 12-time finalist at the MAC Championships for the Eagles.

As a prep swimmer at Lincoln Southeast, Rowan was a two-time Nebraska Class A state champion and a member of a state championship team for the Knights. He was also a team captain and a seven-time Junior National qualifier.

Rowan, who earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Eastern Michigan in 2000, received his master’s degree in education with an emphasis in school and counseling psychology/sport psychology from Missouri in 2009. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. with a similar emphasis in sport psychology.

He and his wife, Miranda, have a two daughters, Reese and Quinn, and a son, Luke.