Penn State Athletics announced on Tuesday that it will not be renewing the contract of men’s and women’s swimming and diving head coach Tim Murphy.
According to a report by SwimSwam.com, Murphy had been on an unspecified leave of absence since at least late March. A Penn State spokesperson at the time did not offer SwimSwam any explanation for the leave of absence when contacted for comment.
“We would like to thank Tim for his service to Penn State for the last 11 years and wish him all the best in the future,” Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft said in a brief press release on Tuesday.
A national search for Murphy’s replacement will begin immediately, according to the release.
Dan Carrington has been serving as interim head coach for the men’s team and Erin Matyus has been interim head coach for the women’s program during Murphy’s leave of absence.
Murphy had been at Penn State in a head coaching role since the 2013-14 season and was posted at Harvard for the 15 years prior. He was also the head coach of the U.S. Men’s open water team at the 2012 Olympic Games.
In 2018, three female swimmers came forward with accusations of bullying against Murphy. The claims sparked an investigation by Penn State’s Integrity Officer Bob Boland, but no public reprimand came as a result of that investigation, nor any indication that one was needed. Murphy was also publicly supported by multiple former swimmers over that span including Irish Olympian and former Nittany Lion swimmer Shane Ryan.
In April of 2018, a former swimmer on the women’s team told StateCollege.com that she was cut from the team after her sophomore season but did not experience any bullying.
“The coaches are very transparent at the beginning of the season when it comes to rules and expectations of the athletes,” the former swimmer, who asked not to be named, wrote in an email. ‘If you don’t meet those rules and expectations, you don’t get to travel. This also applies to Big Tens. This is a D1 program, this is not a ridiculous request.
“All athletes know that,” she said. “Tim is a passionate coach and cares about his athletes. These are not causes for bullying in the slightest, but I do not feel as though I was ever bullied during my time as an athlete under Tim Murphy.”
Penn State is not expected to comment further on any aspect of Murphy’s time within the athletic department or being relieved of his duties at the conclusion of his current contract.
