Maurice Stewart returns for his 21st season as the Head Coach for the women’s swim team at Butler.
The Butler women’s swimming team is moving in a positive direction, and the academic and competitive future for the women “Swim Dawgs” looks very bright. As the head coach, Maurice Stewart has rebuilt a team culture and attitude that exhibits all qualities of the “Butler Way." Coach Stewart’s swimmers embrace team unity, hard work, elevated competitiveness, providing a positive team atmosphere, and most important, achieving academic excellence.
Coach Stewart, who enters his 20th season as the head coach has worked hard to reshape the swim team dynamic, team cohesiveness, and has increased the squad size from 12 swimmers in 2007-08 to 35 women student-athletes in 2018-19. Further, each class on the team is well represented from their senior leadership, to our learning and talented incoming freshman. All are committed, talented, and supportive individuals that make up the Butler Swimming team.
Coach Stewart’s coaching philosophy has always been to provide an environment of excellence by educating swimmers in the latest swim training and techniques. He motivates and keeps his swimmers accountable. He is passionate for the sport and strives to develop positive coach, swimmer relationships through academic and swimming excellence. One highlight Coach Stewart is very proud of is every swimmer that completed all four years of swimming has earned their Butler degree.
The swimming program will enter its 11th season in the BIG EAST Conference for 2023-24. The 2017-18 squad earned its’ first victory at the conference championships by beating the Providence Friars for the first time in conference play and finished 5th at the meet with 235 points which is the teams highest point total earned at a Big East Championship. The team also set 10 new school records which is also the most school records set by a women’s team in school history.
Before entering the Big East Conference in 2013-14, Butler Athletics competed one year in the Atlantic 10 Conference for the 2012-13 season. Before that Butler competed for 33 years in the Horizon League Conference.
Coach Stewart has enjoyed coaching present and past Butler Swimming standouts like Tori Horton, Emma Spotts, Annah VanGheem, Grace Grzybek, Emily Motill, Audrey Gosnell, Amanda Wagner, Emma Green, Liz Miller, Katie Ring, Sarah Lynn Gates, Stephanie Moles, Elizabeth Shafer, Momo Wilson, and Mary Beth Arnold. All these swimmers and many others have helped elevate the Butler Swimming program into the successful Division I swimming team it is today.
Coach Stewart has extensive collegiate and USA Swimming club experience prior to arriving at Butler. He served as an assistant coach at Auburn for two seasons under Head Coach David Marsh. During that time, the Tigers won the men's NCAA Championships in both 2004 & 2005, while the women's team won the national championship title in 2004. Prior to arriving at Auburn, Stewart was the Head Coach at the Sugar Creek Swim Club in St. Louis, Mo. for four years, where he coached several sectional and Junior National level athletes.
