UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After three years as Penn State Swimming and Diving's associate head coach and six as an assistant coach, Steve Barns traded his blue and white colors for a familiar blue, gold and gray.
In July, Barnes began his tenure as Ithaca College's Assistant Athletic Director after nine successful years in Happy Valley.
"Steve has been part of our Penn State family for 9 years," head coach Tim Murphy said. "His tireless efforts on behalf of our student athletes has been tremendous. We extend our heartfelt appreciation and wish Steve all the best with his new journey!"
During his time at Penn State, Barnes has helped over 60 swimmers qualify for the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships, which included a gold, two silver and one bronze medal swims.
Barnes's athletes also excel outside of the pool. In total, 31 Penn State student-athletes have earned All-America honors on 87 occasions. And this past season, the men's team had the highest GPA of all the programs at Penn State.
Now he returns to Ithaca College, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees while competing as a student-athlete.
While part of the Bombers swim team, Barnes won four All-American honors, the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA All-America honor and the Ithaca College Athlete of the Year Award.
"We would like to congratulate Steve Barnes on his new position as Assistant Athletic Director at his alma mater Ithaca College," said Murphy.
