Auburn men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach Richard Quick is fighting a battle bigger than any he’s ever been a part of in the pool.
Quick, a legendary name in the world of swimming and diving, has been diagnosed with an inoperable cancerous brain tumor.
“We’re currently in the process of looking for the best care possible to fight this,” Quick said in a university press release. “I want to thank the countless individuals that have passed along their well wishes, thoughts and prayers.”
Quick took over the Auburn program for the second time in his career in 2007, replacing David Marsh, and immediately led both the men’s and women’s teams to SEC team titles. The women also finished second in the NCAA finals while the men finished fifth.
According to the university release, in the interim, but, under Quick’s direction, Brett Hawke will oversee the men’s team while Dorsey Tierney-Walker will run the women’s program.
Quick also served as Auburn’s head coach from 1978-1982 and built the foundation for where the Auburn swimming and diving program is today.
He captured seven NCAA titles at Stanford from 1988-2005 and five at Texas from 1984-1988, which ties Quick for the most in the history of Division I coaching.
On the international level, Quick headed the United States team at the 1988, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games and was an assistant on the U.S. teams in 1984, 1992 and 2004.
“Richard is such an energetic person, has an incredibly positive attitude and is bound by his faith,” Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs said in the release. “I know that he’s going to meet this challenge head on, just as he has done with every endeavor he’s encountered.”
To share your thoughts or offer support to Coach Richard Quick, visit Coach Quick’s Caring Bridge website at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/richardquick.
A Prayer Pager has been set up for Coach Quick at 334-742-5224. Whenever someone says a prayer for him, they can send a page to that number anonymously to cause his pager to vibrate.