Longtime Assistant Coach Jen Betz Retires After 22 Seasons with Kansas Swimming & Diving

LAWRENCE, Kan. – After greater than 20 years of devoted service, the Kansas Women’s Swimming and Diving program has introduced the retirement of longtime assistant coach Jen Betz, who has been a cornerstone of this system for 22 years. 

Betz has been a Jayhawk by means of and thru, constructing her legacy with this system since 1996. Her journey started as a student-athlete, competing in backstroke and freestyle occasions, earlier than returning in 2003 to hitch the teaching workers as an assistant underneath Head Coach Clark Campbell.

Since becoming a member of the teaching workers, Betz has undoubtedly left a long-lasting mark on this system, impacting numerous pupil athletes and serving to elevate Kansas Swimming & Diving to new heights. Over the previous decade, she performed a pivotal position in guiding the Jayhawks to seven second-place finishes on the Big 12 Conference Championships, together with a program file 754.50 factors in 2019. Betz additionally performed a pivotal position in growing elite-level swimmers, together with mentoring NCAA All-American Chelsie Miller in 2016.

All her efforts have been nationally acknowledged in 2016 when she was named a finalist for College Swimming’s Assistant Coach of the Year Award. 

“Coach Jen has truly made an impact on the Jayhawk Swim and Dive program,” stated Head Coach Clark Campbell. “First as an athlete, then coming back as a coach for the last 22 years, she has seen the program grow to new levels of excellence because of her many contributions. Jen is truly a Jayhawk, and her love of the program has made us better. We are fortunate for all the good she poured into all who were or are part of our team.”

Beyond her assistant teaching duties, Betz has excelled in varied roles, together with crew operations, main recruiting efforts, organizing alumni occasions, and managing Kansas Swim and Dive camps. 

As a former student-athlete herself, Betz has at all times understood the significance of educational success and private development. During her tenure, this system has maintained a crew GPA of three.0 or greater for greater than 40 consecutive semesters. This features a program-best 3.70 GPA within the spring of 2023, which ranked seventh nationally and first amongst Big 12 packages.

“Being a part of KU Athletics is something that I will always treasure and always be proud of. The traditions, loyalty, and family-like feeling were not only present among KU Swimming and Diving, but throughout the entire Athletic Department and University; that’s what drew me here as a student-athlete in 1996,” Said Jen Betz. “Coaching at my alma mater has been a dream come true. I’ve loved building relationships, watching our student athletes grow, and proudly representing the Jayhawks everywhere I went. I’m so grateful to Clark for taking a chance on me 22 years ago, and to everyone who supported me along the way. As the saying goes, Once a Jayhawk, Always a Jayhawk. Rock Chalk Forever!”

Jen and her husband, Tate, reside in Olathe, Kansas, with their three youngsters: Charlie, William, and Ava.

Kansas Athletics and the Jayhawk Swimming & Diving group thank Jen for her extraordinary service and need her the easiest in retirement.