CBU Athletics Appoints New Swim and Dive Program Leadership
4/3/2024 3:00:00 PM | Swimming and Diving
RIVERSIDE - California Baptist University (CBU) Athletics announced today Jim Bossert, associate head coach of the CBU swim and dive program, will lead the team as long-time assistant coach Lisa Siregar has been selected as the new associate head coach, effective immediately. Current head coach Rick Rowland will remain with the program, as senior advisor to the head coach.
"We are excited to have Jim officially step into the position of head swim coach," said Vice President for Athletics, Dr. Micah Parker, "He is a mission fit and has assumed many of the head coaching duties this year. It will also be a blessing to have Coach Rowland remain involved in the program he started many years ago."
Bossert returned to the deck of the Lancer Aquatics Center last year as associate head coach, leading the Lancers when Rowland was unavailable. Bossert led the squad through the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships, where the men took third place and the women claimed fifth.
"I would like to start by thanking CBU President, Dr. Ronald Ellis, and our Vice President for Athletics, Dr. Micah Parker, for entrusting me with this great opportunity," Bossert said of his appointment as head coach. "As an alumnus of CBU, I am honored and excited about this chance to lead a program in which I am so invested. I look forward to building upon the incredible program that Rick Rowland has been building for 25 years."
Before returning to CBU, Bossert made coaching stops with multiple swim clubs and teams in California's Central Valley, and before that, as an assistant coach at major Division I programs Alabama, Fresno State, and WAC-rival Wyoming. Bossert is a 2016 CBU graduate, where he competed for Rowland while completing his Master's of Kinesiology in Exercise Science.
Bossert's appointment signifies the first major leadership change for the swim and dive program, which was founded by Rowland in 1999. Rowland launched all CBU's aquatics programs and, at one point, was head coach of men's and women's swim & dive, as well as men's and women's water polo during the early years of those programs. In 2021, he was named one of the 100 Greatest Coaches by his peers within the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America.
"Jim is a wonderful coach to continue the legacy of the CBU swim and dive program," said Rowland. "I look forward to working alongside him to further strengthen the program and showcase our students' God-given talents."
During his 25 years of leadership, Rowland guided the Lancers to eight NAIA Team National Championships (four men, four women), a dozen more runner-up finishes, and 105 NAIA All-Americans. When CBU moved from the NAIA to Division II, Rowland and the Lancers kept pace with seven team conference championships in the RMAC (Division II), four individual National Champions, and 49 Division II All-Americans. Rowland coached 26 All-WAC performances at the Division I level, guiding CBU's first Division I National qualifiers to the championship stage in 2023.
Lisa Siregar has been a Lancer since 2003, when she first coached alongside Rowland. She has assisted with dozens of conference championship runs, hundreds of All-American and All-Conference efforts, and helped Rowland oversee all eight national championships.
"We are excited to have Jim officially step into the position of head swim coach," said Vice President for Athletics, Dr. Micah Parker, "He is a mission fit and has assumed many of the head coaching duties this year. It will also be a blessing to have Coach Rowland remain involved in the program he started many years ago."
Bossert returned to the deck of the Lancer Aquatics Center last year as associate head coach, leading the Lancers when Rowland was unavailable. Bossert led the squad through the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Championships, where the men took third place and the women claimed fifth.
"I would like to start by thanking CBU President, Dr. Ronald Ellis, and our Vice President for Athletics, Dr. Micah Parker, for entrusting me with this great opportunity," Bossert said of his appointment as head coach. "As an alumnus of CBU, I am honored and excited about this chance to lead a program in which I am so invested. I look forward to building upon the incredible program that Rick Rowland has been building for 25 years."
Before returning to CBU, Bossert made coaching stops with multiple swim clubs and teams in California's Central Valley, and before that, as an assistant coach at major Division I programs Alabama, Fresno State, and WAC-rival Wyoming. Bossert is a 2016 CBU graduate, where he competed for Rowland while completing his Master's of Kinesiology in Exercise Science.
Bossert's appointment signifies the first major leadership change for the swim and dive program, which was founded by Rowland in 1999. Rowland launched all CBU's aquatics programs and, at one point, was head coach of men's and women's swim & dive, as well as men's and women's water polo during the early years of those programs. In 2021, he was named one of the 100 Greatest Coaches by his peers within the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America.
"Jim is a wonderful coach to continue the legacy of the CBU swim and dive program," said Rowland. "I look forward to working alongside him to further strengthen the program and showcase our students' God-given talents."
During his 25 years of leadership, Rowland guided the Lancers to eight NAIA Team National Championships (four men, four women), a dozen more runner-up finishes, and 105 NAIA All-Americans. When CBU moved from the NAIA to Division II, Rowland and the Lancers kept pace with seven team conference championships in the RMAC (Division II), four individual National Champions, and 49 Division II All-Americans. Rowland coached 26 All-WAC performances at the Division I level, guiding CBU's first Division I National qualifiers to the championship stage in 2023.
Lisa Siregar has been a Lancer since 2003, when she first coached alongside Rowland. She has assisted with dozens of conference championship runs, hundreds of All-American and All-Conference efforts, and helped Rowland oversee all eight national championships.
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