Bowling Green State University Athletics
Staff Directory
- Title:
- Assistant Swimming Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
- Email:
Ian Bishop enters his first season as assistant swimming coach/recruiting coordinator at BGSU during the 2024-25 season.
Bishop comes to Bowling Green from Division III John Carroll University outside of Cleveland, Ohio, where he served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for two seasons under new BGSU head coach Tanner Barton. While at JCU, Bishop helped lead the Blue Streaks to two men’s and two women’s Ohio Athletic Conference championships and was a part of four OAC Men’s and Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year awards combined. In 2023, the men’s team placed in the top 15 at the NCAA Championships for only the third time in program history.
Additionally, Bishop was one of only six collegiate coaches in any division to win the Collegiate Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Jean Freeman Award earlier this year, which recognizes those whose exceptional contributions have brought recognition to their institution and have epitomized the characteristics of Freeman, who was a longtime coach for the University of Minnesota.
“I’m very excited for Ian Bishop to join Bowling Green State University,” Barton said. “Ian is ready and eager to assist in all facets of the program. He possesses a high swimming IQ, and I’m extremely confident that his ability to connect with recruits and current student-athletes will immediately enhance our team. While I’ve personally witnessed Ian’s development as a collegiate swim coach, so have others in this profession. The CSCAA recognizing Ian as a 2024 Jean Freeman award recipient reaffirms how he is a someone we want to be a part of BGSU Athletics.”
On both the men’s and women’s sides during his tenure at John Carroll, Bishop helped guide three different OAC Swimmer of the Year recipients, nine NCAA Division III Championships qualifiers, six First and Second Team All-Americans and 26 OAC champion swimmers while they set a combined seven OAC records under his tutelage. As the team’s recruiting coordinator, he brought in 31 swimmers and divers to JCU in two years, three of which had incoming times faster than the current program records.
"I'm really excited to be at Bowling Green and be a part of a team and athletic department that truly values the community which makes this place special," Bishop said. "I also think the team has a lot of potential, can get off to a hot start and be special in the coming years."
Before his stint at John Carroll, Bishop was a volunteer assistant coach at Division III Albion College in Michigan where he helped lead the Britons to third place finishes at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Championships on both the men’s and women’s sides. During that season, he also served as head coach of the Parkside Middle School swim team in Jackson, Michigan.
Since 2019, Bishop has assisted as a coach at various swim camps including ones with NC State, University of Georgia, Indiana University and University of Wisconsin. For five years, he was also a clinician coach for Wolverine Swim Clinics that were ran by legendary former University of Michigan swim coach Jim Richardson.
Bishop graduated with a bachelor’s degree in secondary education & physical education from Northern Michigan University in 2021 and a master’s degree in sports leadership from John Carroll in May. A former collegiate swimmer, he began his career at Olivet College competing in sprint freestyle and backstroke events before transferring to NMU following his freshman season. Bishop competed as a diver for the Wildcats during his sophomore campaign before becoming a student assistant coach for his remaining two years.
A native of Jackson, Michigan, Bishop graduated from Jackson High School in 2017 where he also served as an assistant coach in 2021.
