288-149-2 (Men) 53-30-0 (Women)
With over 300 combined wins in his 31 years as a head coach atCleveland State, Wally Morton has secured his legacy as one of thegreatest coaches in Viking history.
Morton has led the men's team to double-digit wins 15 times,including each of the past 11 seasons. In 28 of his 31 seasons themen have finished .500 or better, with the team obtaining a winningpercentage of .700 or higher a remarkable 14 times. Since takingover as coach in 2007, the women's team has also experienced anunprecedented level of success, winning 41 dual meets over the pastthree seasons with the team taking second at the 2011-12 HorizonLeague Championships.
Named the Director of Competitive Aquatics in 2007, Morton isentering his 39th season with the men's program and his sixth withthe women's team. Prior to being named the head coach of the men'sprogram in 1981, he spent seven years as an assistant coach withthe Vikings.
While coaching the men, Morton has compiled a record of288-149-2, including an 11-4 record this past year. His successfultenure includes 14 Penn-Ohio Championships, a pair of MidwesternCollegiate Conference (MCC) titles, a Horizon League Championshipand an astounding 28 seasons with a .500 or better record. In hiscoaching career, Morton has led five athletes to qualify for theNCAA Championships, including three appearances by 2009All-American Jakub Dobies. Last season the men set four ClevelandState records (three individual and one relay) en route to a secondplace finish at the Horizon League Championships.
Over the last six years, Morton has also turned the women'sprogram into a contender, including a 12-3 season in 2011-12, those12 wins gave Morton his third straight season with double digitwins for the women. Morton has led the men to a record of 123-40-1over the past 12 seasons, and the women to a record of 49-21 overthe last four seasons.
The 2005-06 Horizon League Coach of the Year, Morton led theViking men to back-to-back MCC titles in 1998 and 1999 and wasnamed the MCC Coach of the Year in 1997 and 1999. He was also namedthe Coach of the Year of the Penn-Ohio Conference six times,including a stretch of three straight seasons from 1984-86.
Morton's success on the pool deck is affirmed by the number ofsuccessful athletes he has coached during his career at CSU. He hasled countless swimmers to the United States Senior SwimmingNationals and five to the NCAA Championships. His success has alsotranslated internationally with Nedim Nisic competing in the 2008Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Two other CSU swimmers underMorton's direction have gone on to be Olympic Trials finalists andthe Vikings got their first All-American in school history inDobies in 2009. In 2010, both Dobies and Mark deSwardt earnedMid-Major All-American Honorable Mention accolades.
Morton joined the CSU staff in 1974 as the Aquatic Director ofthe brand-new Cleveland State University Natatorium while alsoserving as an assistant coach with the men's swim team. Followingthe retirement of coaching legend Bob Busbey in 1981, Morton wasnamed the head coach and has since brought regional and nationalprominence to the Vikings. In addition to coaching, Morton has beenextensively involved in event management for 38 national andinternational aquatic events as the University's Aquatics Directorand has overseen four NCAA Division I Championships and manyregional and international competitions hosted by ClevelandState.
Due to his vast experience in coaching and hosting championshipswimming events, Morton has become a well-known face in theswimming world, allowing for international recruiting. During histenure, he has successfully recruited athletes from a number ofcountries including Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil,Bulgaria, Croatia, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand,Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro,South Africa, Spain and Sweden.
A 1970 Miami (Ohio) graduate, Morton was a member ofback-to-back Mid-American Conference Championship swim teams in1966 and 1967.
The winningest coach in Cleveland State swimming history, Mortoncredits his successful coaching career to two great influences: TomPatton of the Dover, Ohio YMCA and former USA Olympic coach Busbey,who Morton had the privilege to serve under for his first sevenyears with the Vikings. In addition to his duties with the swimteams, Morton is also a faculty member in the Health, PhysicalEducation, Recreation and Dance Department at CSU. Morton and hiswife, Carol, a professor at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio,have one son, Robert. They reside in Strongsville, Ohio.
