Pete Hovland

Oakland University coach After graduating Chico State in 1977, and completing graduate school, Hovland began coaching the Oakland University golden grizzlies swim team in 1979 as the Women's team Head Coach and the Men's team Assistant Coach. Oakland is located in Rochester, Michigan, about 40 minutes North of Detroit, and was an NCAA Division II competitor at the time. Hovland was recruited to Oakland by his former Chico State Coach Dr. Ernie Maglischo. He was mentored by Maglischo during his first year coaching the women's team at Oakland State, and said of Maglischo, his swimming and coaching mentor, that "He was a scientist", and "was considered one of the brightest swimming minds in the world.” Hovland also noted that Maglischo had "written some of the best books on the sport". Hovland assumed the Head Coaching position at Oakland in 1981, where he led the Golden Grizzlies for 42 years. Hovland's men's teams won four NCAA Division II team national championships between 1994 and 1997 with 54 individual national champions. Oakland University's collegiate men's teams under Hovland won their respective conference 44 times, making them undefeated in conference championships. He also led the women's program for 24 years spanning two intervals: initially during the 1979–1980 and 1980–1981 seasons, and then consecutively for 22 years, from 2001 to 2023. Pete was a coach for the women's program when they won their fifth National Championship. After his retirement Hovland was replaced in 2023 by acting Associate Coach Mitch Alters, who had formerly swum for Hovland at Oakland.

Outstanding swimmers coached Hovland had many outstanding swimmers as a coach, and several who became coaches. Mike Koleber, a 1984 graduate of Oakland, served as swim team captain, won 11 NCAA national titles between 1984 and 1987, and later helped found the large Nitro Center swimming facility in Cedar Park, in greater Austin, Texas where he had served as head coach. Koliber also served as a President on the Board of the American Swimming Coaches Association.

In his 43-year career, Hovland, who won his team conference nearly every year he coached, had 763 individual conference champions consisting of 434 men, and 329 women. He had 29 total conference coach of the year awards, consisting of 16 for his men's teams and 13 for his women's teams. Hovland had 14 NCAA Division I Championship qualifiers consisting of 9 men and 5 women, though his teams at Oakland were Division II through 1997 for much of his coaching tenure.

In service to the swimming community, Hovland served as a member of the Rules Committee for NCAA Swimming and Diving and prior to 1998 was a member of the College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Board of Directors.

Honors Hovland was a 1998 inductee into the Chico State Hall of Honor and a 2009 inductee into the City of Chico Hall of Fame. As a swimmer, Hovland was a 1976 NCAA Division II Swimmer-of-the-Year, and in what was likely his most accomplished years as a collegiate swimmer, was a 1976 Chico State Senior Athlete-of-the-Year.

A regional standout, he was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. With his teams winning an unprecedented 14 consecutive Summit League conference championships, he was elected to the Summit League Hall of Fame, where his teams competed from 1999 to 2013, winning the Summit Conference each year. He was named conference coach of the year 23 times which spanned Hovland's time coaching Oakland's swim teams in two separate conferences. Hovland was a six-time NCAA Coach of the Year during his career, and mentored a total of seven NCAA Swimmers of the Year.

In a somewhat more exclusive honor, near the end of his coaching career, Hovland was elected to the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA), Greatest 100 Coaches of the Century, along with Oakland's former women's swim team Coach Tracy Huth. His former coach at Chico State, Dr. Ernie Maglischo, who helped recruit him to Oakland, also was elected to the honor.