Kansas State University Athletics

Rowing Tradition

Rowing Tradition


Dating back to 1963 as the Kansas State Crew, the Kansas State women's rowing program has developed into a Division I NCAA program that includes a rich tradition, including becoming the second member of the Big 12 Conference in 1996-97, the development of the Breidenthal Boathouse, and recruiting and teaching home-grown talent the sport of rowing, among other accomplishments.

During the 1996-97 academic year, the Kansas State women's rowing team became an NCAA Division I sport in compliance with Title IX, under head coach Jenny Hale, becoming the first K-State women's rowing head coach. In Hale's seven-year tenure, she guided the Wildcats to multiple Kansas Cup victories, while also leading the K-State Varsity 8+ to an 11th-place finish at the 1999-2000 Central Division Championships.

In July of 2003, K-State welcomed their second head women's rowing coach, Patrick Sweeney. Bringing over 27 years of coaching experience prior to coming to K-State, including stints on the British and Belgian Olympic teams, Sweeney helped build the K-State women's rowing program to what it is today.

Conference Affiliation


Upon becoming an NCAA Division I program in 1996-97, K-State became the second Big 12 Conference school to add women's rowing as a varsity sport. In 2010, the four teams of the Big 12 Conference, K-State, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma, joined Alabama, Tennessee of the Southeastern Conference and Central Florida, Southern Methodist and Tulsa of the Conference USA to create a nine-team league under the Conference USA Conference. The move to the Conference USA enabled the conference to have its champion receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships beginning in the 2013 season.

In 2015, the conference alignment was altered as the five current Big 12 programs, K-State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia were joined by former Conference USA opponents Alabama, Old Dominion and Tennessee to create an eight-team Big 12 Conference Championship. In 2018, Old Dominion left the Big 12 Conference.

While competing in the Big 12 Conference, Sweeney and the Wildcats saw the program grow to unprecedented heights, including a program-best second-place finish at the 2009 and 2014 Big 12 Conference Championships.
 
Big 12 Rowing


Kansas Talent


The Wildcats have a unique reputation for recruiting talented athletes, particularly from the state of Kansas, and developing them into experienced rowers. 

With a roster largely made up of student-athletes hailing from the state of Kansas, a majority of rowers enter the program with no prior experience in rowing. In fact, the K-State Rowing program focuses on hard-working, talented athletes from across a variety of sports to develop them into race-ready rowers. Transitioning to the sport of rowing requires strength and commitment from the athletes and coaching staff.

If you are interested in learning more about the K-State Rowing program, or potentially joining the K-State Rowing team, click here to fill out our questionnaire.
 

Coaching History


In 1996, Jenny Hale became the first head coach in K-State rowing history, building a foundation for the program. Hale led the Wildcats for seven years at the helm, before stepping down in 2003. Later that year, K-State announced the hiring of the program's second head coach, Patrick Sweeney on July 30, 2003.
 

"I am very pleased and honored to be coming to Kansas State, said Sweeney. K-State is an exceptional university with an outstanding athletic program. I am particularly impressed by the positive and professional attitude of the athletic department as well as the warm and friendly support of the school and community. I look forward to working with the student-athletes in the women's rowing program and helping them to reach their full potential in the sport," - Patrick Sweeney

Since taking over in 2003, Sweeney made an immediate impact on the program, guiding the 1V8+ to a victory at SIRAs in 2004. The team continued its development in 2005-06, with the 1V8+ taking second at the San Diego Crew Classic. The 2006-07 season was highlighted by the outstanding performances of the 1N8+ that won SIRAs and the NCAA Central Regional title. 

The top crew of Sweeney's K-State tenure was the 2008-09 1V8+. Their accolades include capturing gold at the Head of the Des Moines, defeating Alabama on its own Black Warrior River and clenching a tightly contested third place at the San Diego Crew Classic. The crew would go on to a convincing victory over rival Kansas to secure the Kansas Cup before claiming the gold medal at the Big 12 Championship. 

The 2013-14 season was headlined with several firsts for the K-State rowing program. The team kicked off the campaign by notching program-first victories against then-No. 19 Oklahoma at the Longhorn Invitational. The momentum continued throughout the season with the Wildcats defending their Sunflower Showdown title for a fourth-consecutive season against Kansas and capturing five gold medals at SIRAs. 

Sweeney’s 11th season with team concluded with program-best finishes at both the Big 12 and Conference USA Championships. At Big 12s, the Wildcats finished a close second to the Sooners highlighted by a gold medal showing by the 2V4 and runner-up efforts from both the 1V8+ and 2V8+. At C-USAs, the Wildcats depth shined through once again with the 1V4 nabbing gold to headline a third-place finish. 

The Wildcats continued their surge in 2014-15 by earning their second-consecutive top-3 finish at the Big 12 Championships after bronze medal performances by the 1V8+ and 2V8+. The team also saw the 1V8, 2V8 and 1V4 earn gold medals at SIRAs, while all three boats secured Grand Final qualification at the San Diego Crew Classic for the first time in program history.

During the 2017-18 season, the Wildcats put together an exceptional run to round out their season, including a victory of Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown, earning victories in four of five boats. K-State continued their success into the Big 12 Championships, where the K-State 2v8 earned bronze.

In 2018-19, the Wildcats garnered more hardware during the spring schedule as the team earned three gold medals at the SIRAs, a 22-0 sweep over Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown and a top-three placing at the Big 12 Championship. K-State saw two of it's members claim spots on the All-Big 12 First Team. 
 
Rowing Facilities




















 

Facilities


During the fall of 2013, the K-State rowing program added a monumental piece to the program with the construction of the Intercollegiate Rowing Center (IRC).

Constructed by Konrath Construction, the 9,000 square-foot Intercollegiate Rowing Center facility, is constructed in K-State limestone is located along Kimball Avenue adjacent to the east parking lot of Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The facility provides an all-inclusive and efficient training facility for the Wildcat rowing program, including two state-of-the-art indoor rowing tanks, a locker room, and athletic training area, an erg room with more than 50 rowing performance machines and office space.

In addition to the construction of the Intercollegiate Rowing Center, the Wildcats call the Breidenthal Boathouse home, located on Elk's Cove on the Tuttle Creek Reservoir, which was originally erected in 1968. The boathouse has space for over 20 eights and fours, as well as additional space for several smaller boats.

In 2003, the boathouse underwent groundbreaking for a new $1.3 million team facility, through a generous lead gift from George Breidenthal and funds raised by the program. Opened in fall of 2005, the new facility includes a team locker room, shower and bathroom facilities, a large team meeting area, an on-site training room, coaching offices and a "Catbacker" food and beverage area.

For more information on the K-State Rowing Facilities, click here.
 

Academic Achievements


In addition to their success on the water, the K-State rowing team has held a high level of achievement in the classroom. In 2018 alone, the Wildcats boasted 28 individual Big 12 All-Academic Team honors, 11 CRCA National Scholar-Athlete honors, and one individual being awarded the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement award, the Big 12 Conference's highest academic honor. For the 2019 season, the Wildcats showed similar results in the classroom as the team secured 27 spots on the Big 12 Academic First and Second Teams.Â