UNLV Athletics Hall Of Fame
Men’s & Women’s Swimming Head Coach (1980-2015)
The longest-tenured head coach in the history of UNLV athletics, Jim Reitz built a legendary career overseeing both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs for 35 seasons before retiring in 2015. A native of Seattle, Reitz was in the sport for 15 years before coming to campus. He coached at both Cascade and Seattle Swim clubs and was head of the physical education department at Shorewood High School in Washington. He moved to Las Vegas in 1976 and began coaching the Sandpiper Swim Team before taking over the reins of the Rebel programs four years later. Reitz steadily built UNLV into one of the most successful squads on campus. The final tally after his 35 years included: 14 conference championships (highlighted by a run of 10 titles in the last 11 years by the men’s program), 29 combined conference Most Valuable Swimmers, 16 combined conference Coach of the Year honors from three different leagues and 17 combined all-time top-30 team finishes at the NCAA Championships. His remarkable run is buoyed by the fact that the Rebels saw their greatest success during his final decade on staff. In addition to the men’s team’s conference championship streak, the Rebel women also claimed the 2005 Mountain West title. In his final campaign, the Rebel men logged their fifth top-30 placing in six years. That includes a pair of 19th-place finishes in 2011 and 2014, the highest in school history. While Reitz not only coached a total of 42 Rebels to All-America status between the men’s and women’s programs, UNLV was also well-represented internationally over his time guiding the program, both at the Olympic Games as well as other international competitions. Reitz also stressed academic success for the Rebels, and his teams saw a near perfect graduation rate while consistently were awarded with CSCAA (College Swimming Coaches Association of America) Team Academic honors. In 2017, Reitz was on hand as the swimming pool inside Buchanan Natatorium was named in his honor. One year later, he was inducted into the Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame and then was voted into the UNLV Athletics Hall of Fame in his first year eligible to appear on the ballot.
Men's Conference Coach of the Year Awards
Big West - 1987, 1996
Mountain West - 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2015
MPSF - 2013
WAC - 2014
Women's Conference Coach of the Year Awards
Big West - 1984, 1991, 1994
Mountain West - 2005
