Kansas Athletics Mourns the Loss of Hall of Fame Swim & Dive Coach Bill Spahn

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas swimming & diving program is mourning the loss of Bill Spahn, who coached the Kansas swimming & diving program from 1977-81 and had a brilliant coaching career of over 45 years.

Spahn passed away on Saturday, March 26 at the age of 79.

Spahn, born in Austin, Minnesota, is a member of the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. He coached for 46 years at the University of New Mexico, University of Kansas, Wichita Swim Club, Albuquerque HYAC Swim Club, Notre Dame (as a volunteer), and the Fort Collins Area Swim Team, among other places.

“Coach Spahn really elevated the men’s program and was impressionable on me as a young swimmer in the state,” head coach Clark Campbell said. “He was somebody that did a lot for the sport of swimming. I have a lot of admiration for coach Spahn and all that he did for the program at KU.”

Spahn coached Kansas to a pair of Big Eight Conference Championships in 1978 and 1979, while guiding his student-athletes to 19 individual conference championships and two relay championships. His teams set 16 league records and coached several student-athletes to the NCAA Championships.