University of Minnesota Athletics
Dennis Dale - M Club Hall of Fame
Dennis Dale
Class of 2009
Swimming & Diving: 1965-67, 1985-2014
An All-American swimmer at Minnesota in 1967, Dennis Dale returned to his alma mater as the seventh head swimming and diving coach in school history in 1985 to 2014.
A six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, Dale has led Minnesota to seven Big Ten titles (1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2007). The Gophers' 1996 championship was the first in 70 years.
The Minnesota men finished no lower than fourth at the Big Ten Championships each of his last 26 seasons, including a fourth-place finish in 2014, as well as 12 runner-up finishes during that span. The Golden Gophers had five-straight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships from 2000-04 and more than 100 different All-Americans in the last 20 years.
The first of Dale's six Big Ten titles came in 1996, breaking a 70-year Big Ten title dry spell for the Golden Gophers and a 10-year hold on the title by Michigan. Minnesota finished second in 1997 by just 17 points before winning another crown in 1998.
Its third title came in 2001, a dominating 248-point win over second-place Michigan. Minnesota made it back-to-back titles with the 2002 crown, and was again champion in 2004 and 2005, squeaking out a three-point win over the Hoosiers in 2005. Its last title in 2007 was also a hotly contested battle as the Golden Gophers beat Michigan by a four-point margin.
Under Dale's direction Minnesota won 48 individual Big Ten titles, including nine in the 50 freestyle, and 38 relay crowns.
A proponent of academics, Dale's teams produced 181 Academic All-Big Ten honors since 2001, while 31 of his student-athletes earned Academic All-America honors.