Casey Converse

Keith Cawthon "Casey" Converse (September 12, 1957 – August 8, 2024) was an American college swimming coach for the United States Airforce Academy in Colorado, Springs and a former competition swimmer. He was one of the United States' more outstanding distance swimmers during the 1970s, competing at the 1976 Summer Olympics and setting a pair of NCAA records while swimming for the Alabama Crimson Tide swim team at the University of Alabama, coached by Don Gambril.

Early life and swimming Keith "Casey" Converse was born on September 12, 1957, in Topeka, Kansas, to Dorothy Peterson Converse and Edward Brandly Converse, the youngest child with three older sisters. He left for California to train with the Mission Viejo Nadadores around the age of 17 half way through his Junior year in High School, in January, 1975 and graduated from Mission Viejo High School in 1976. With the Mission Viejo Nadadores, Converse ramped up his training to 16-17,000 meters a day, usually consisting of 2 two-hour practices with additional time spent weight training.

University of Alabama swimmer

Converse set the NCAA record in the 1,000-yard freestyle during a dual meet at Auburn University in 1977. On March 26, 1977, he set an NCAA record and became the first man in swimming history to break the 15-minute barrier in the mile on his way to winning the 1,650-yard freestyle when he clocked an American and NCAA record time of 14:57.30 at the NCAA Championships in Cleveland, Ohio in his Freshman year at Alabama. His time beat the old record by nine seconds. Converse also set an NCAA record for the 100-yard freestyle.

Casey later graduated from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas in 1984 with a degree in Education. He eventually completed a Masters from the University of Northern Colorado, in Greeley, Colorado. He resigned New Mexico State when the college announced in July 1988 they would no longer be funding a swimming program for the 1988-89 season, and was replaced by Mark McFarland, the former assistant swim coach at New Mexico State.

Coaching Air Force Academy He served as the head swimming coach at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs from 1988 to 2017, becoming the Academy's first civilian coach. From 1988 to 1996 he was the head coach for both the men's and women's teams, and coached the women's swim program exclusively from 1997 to 2017. During his full coaching tenure, the men's team went from last in the Western Athletic Conference to second, and the women became the first Air Force team to win two consecutive NCAA Division II championships in the 1995-1996 season. In 1997, when Converse shifted his focus to the women's team, they changed from DII to NCAA Division I, affecting their overall record, and increasing his challenges as a coach. From 1989 to 1996, Converse's women's program at Air Force achieved a record of 73-21, winning five conference titles. The women's team gained an NCAA Division I ranking in 1997. Converse was also awarded the 2017 Richard E. Steadman Award by the CSCAA, given to those in coaching who spread happiness in the sport.

Recognizing his groundbreaking career achievements including bringing the school to its first national swimming championship, Converse was elected to the U.S. Air Force Academy Hall of Fame in 2022.

He died from cancer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on August 8, 2024, at the age of 66, and was survived by his wife Andrea, his first wife Sherry, married daughters Rosie and Maggie, and grandchildren. He spent part of his retirement at a residence in Maui, Hawaii. His hobbies included fly fishing, dancing, and bicycling. A memorial service was held at Shrove Chapel in Colorado Springs on September 20, 2024.