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University of Massachusets Athletics
McIver Inducted Into Hall of Fame
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Sept. 23, 2002
More than a decade after UMass standout swimmer Brian McIver's career ended, his legacy of dominance continues to live on the record boards of college swimming pools throughout the East. And for his record-setting performances, which made him one of Massachusetts' most decorated student-athletes in any sport ever, McIver has been selected for induction into the UMass Athletic Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2002.
?It's really a big honor, but I never expected it,? said McIver, a Medford, Mass., native who starred on Coach Russ Yarworth's UMass swim and water polo squads from 1987-90 and now lives in San Francisco with his wife of two years, Laura. ?Being a swimmer at UMass was fun, but I never equated that into an induction into a hall of fame anywhere.
?I enjoyed a lot of success at UMass, but swimming's not the largest sport, and it didn't really receive a lot of recognition, so I never really fathomed something like this happening. Every time someone says something about it (the Hall of Fame honor), I still get a buzz.?
He first began competitive swimming at age 10, when a broken foot sustained in a tetherball game forced him to hit the pool for rehabilitation. McIver worked out with a local boys club in nearby Arlington, Mass., as a youth, then went on to a stellar prep career at Medford (Mass.) High School.
In high school, McIver earned four letters on the swim team, and captured the 1985 Massachusetts state 100 freestyle title and was third in the same event at the 1986 YMCA National meet. Recruited to UMass by Yarworth, McIver was part of a 13-man recruiting class that would transform the Minutemen into New England's dominant intercollegiate swim program.
At the time of his arrival in Amherst, the UMass swim program had just one or two scholarships at its disposal, and it hadn't captured a New England team title in over 40 years. According to McIver, he and his teammates had to prove they could ?make it? before receiving scholarship aid from the coaching staff.
After a rocky first semester in the classroom, McIver switched roommates at mid-year, got his academics in order and began to write the most successful swim career in school history.
All McIver did as a freshman (1986-87) was capture the New England 100 free in 46.17. But the Minutemen, with all 13 of Yarworth's freshmen scoring in at least one event, captured the New England team title, UMass' first since the 1955-56 campaign. In addition, the Minutemen posted a school-record tying 11 dual meet wins en route to a perfect 11-0 mark.
?We had an incredible group of guys in my freshman class,? McIver said. ?They were all great swimmers, the best in Massachusetts, or New England for that matter. They stayed home and went to UMass, which was a real tribute to Russ.?
McIver, though, was just getting warmed up. In his sophomore season (1987-88), he captured the New England 50 free (21.21), 100 free (45.90) and 200 free (1:40.79) individual titles, while leading the Minutemen to New England relay titles in the 200 medley, 200 free, 400 medley and 400 free. He and his teammates led Massachusetts to back-to-back New England team titles for the first time ever.
His sophomore season also provided McIver with his most memorable Maroon and White moment. In a late-season dual meet in Amherst against a Boston U. program that had more scholarships than UMass, the Minutemen were trailing the Terriers heading into the final event and the school's 40-win dual meet win string was in serious trouble. The UMass anchorman, though, wouldn't let that happen, as he caught the B.U. anchor and won the race by half a body-length to run the Minuteman win streak to 41 straight and give the program a school single-season 12th victory on the year.
?At the end of the meet, everything came down to the final free relay,? recalled Will Riddell, one of McIver's teammates. ?Whoever won the relay won the meet. When Brian started his 100-yard leg, he was significantly behind B.U.'s anchor, but he made up some distance in the first 75 yards.
?With one lap to go, the B.U. Swimmers were celebrating, as they thought that no one could possibly make up the rest of the distance in 25 yards. They were wrong, and Brian won the meet for our team. The victory was a significant step in upgrading the level of competition that UMass competed against.?
As a junior in 1988-89, McIver again captured New England gold medals in the 50 (20.95), 100 (45.28) and 200 (1:40.24) freestyle races. He also anchored UMass relay teams to wins in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle events, as the Minutemen claimed their third consecutive New England team title.
But, McIver saved the best for his senior season, when he would add New England individual crowns in the 50 (21.00), 100 (44.72) and 200 (1:38.53) freestyle races to his resume for the third consecutive year. He also earned gold as the Minuteman anchor of the 200 free, 400 free and 400 medley units, as UMass celebrated a fourth straight New England team title.
McIver ended his career with 20 New England championships (10 individual, 10 relay), the most ever won by one man in the 70-plus year history of the New England Intercollegiate Championships. After his last New England meet, McIver went on to become the first (and to this day only) UMass swimmer to win an Eastern Collegiate title, as he captured the 50 (20.45) and 100 (44.62) freestyles at the 1990 meet en route to earning the Moriarty Award as the senior who scored the most points at the Championship event.
?I was really kind of lucky because I had some ability,? said McIver, a four-time team MVP. ?We had a great group of guys. G.T. Ladd competed every day in the same events and I owe him a great deal. It was better to beat him than lose to him, and that extra push was a good thing.
?A lot of the credit for my success also goes to coach Yarworth. He knew how to take me and prod me into practicing harder. I wasn't that into it. I didn't want to put the hours to get where I wanted to get. He (Russ) got me there, and should really get the lions' share of the credit.?
At the time of his graduation, he held eight UMass school records, six pool records and five freshman records. Remarkably, his school mark of 44.62 in the 100 freestyle still stands as the school standard, while his top times in the 200 and 50 freestyle events rank second and third, respectively.
?Brian McIver was quite simply one of the most talented swimmers I've ever had the opportunity to coach,? Yarworth said. ?He was a member and leader of one of the strongest classes (1990) in UMass swimming history.
?I've seldom seen an athlete who loved to race as much as Brian,? he added. ?I, and the team, always knew if Brian was anchoring a relay, he'd find a way to win. Being able to coach Brian to Eastern titles in both the 50 and 100 freestyles during his senior year is certainly one of the highlights of my career, and one of the biggest accomplishments of our tradition-rich program.?
In addition to his exploits for the swim team, McIver was also a standout water polo player for the Minutemen. A two-time All-New England selection (1989 and 1990), he still holds the school single-game record for steals (six vs. Harvard, Sept. 19, 1989).
?I did most of the sprints for the water polo team, basically 20 to 25 meter sprints a couple times a game,? McIver said. ?I don't believe I would have developed speed in the offseason without it. Most summers, I didn't swim at UMass or compete, but water polo got me into shape and improved my sprint speed. Some of my best races were in the first or second meets of the year because I was coming off the water polo season.?
McIver, who now works as a damage evaluator in the Bay area, graduated from UMass with a sport management degree in 1991. He did not, though, continue his swim career after college, but may return to the waters again someday. Instead, he's turned his attention to roller hockey, something he wasn't able to play as a child.
?I wouldn't have swam anywhere else,? McIver said. ?As an athlete, especially today, you pick a school for many reasons, especially in a sport such as swimming because it is such an individual sport. Russ is a great coach, the best I ever had. He paid attention to you, made sure you got what you needed, and that you took care of business in the pool and in the classroom. He's been a good friend.?
Under Yarworth's direction, the UMass swimming program has evolved into a perennial A-10 title contender with five conference team titles since 1996. Sixteen years ago, though, McIver and his teammates provided the touchtone for the program's domination of New England intercollegiate swimming.