PENSACOLA, Fla. – UWF head women's swimming and diving coach Andrew Hancock has announced he is stepping down from his position to relocate back to his home country of Australia with his family.
 
Hancock has spent the past six years at UWF, starting the program from scratch in the fall of 2012.
 
Over five seasons of competition dating back to the inaugural meet in October of 2013, UWF has posted five top 25 finishes at the NCAA Division II Championships – including back-to-back sixth place performances in 2016 and 2017, won nine individual national championships, produced 41 First Team All-Americans and 60 Honorable Mention All-Americans.
 
"This is a bittersweet day for my family and myself, because, while we are excited for the future, we love UWF," said Hancock. "To have my first head coaching job be the chance to build a program from scratch has been a uniquely rewarding experience, and I'd like to thank Dave Scott, Tony Nguyen and the UWF community for their support the past six years.
 
"I'm also thankful for the hard work of my amazing assistant coaches, notably (diving coach) Barb Parker, who has been here with me from the very beginning. UWF Swimming & Diving has a bright future, and I am looking forward to watching the program achieve even more success in the years to come."
 
UWF has a 42-29 dual meet record with four wins against Division I competition.
 
Additionally, Hancock's teams have won two New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference titles while finishing outside of the top two just once in five years.
 
He has mentored the NSISC High Point Swimmer of the Meet in four of five years of membership, while the High Point Diver of the Meet has been an Argonaut every year. Hancock has been the NSISC Women's Coach of the Year three times while coaching 38 individual event champions and 10 relay winners.
 
Outside the pool, four UWF swimmers and divers have been named CoSIDA Academic All-America honorees with five also named CoSIDA Academic All-District. His team members have been recognized as Scholar All-America recipients by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America more than two dozen times.
 
"I know with the culture that has been established by Andrew and his staff, we will continue to recruit outstanding student-athletes to the University of West Florida," UWF Director of Athletics Dave Scott said. "With the resources we have in place and the tradition of excellence that has been here from day one, this program will continue to thrive, succeed and build champions for life thanks to the foundation laid by Andrew."