Roger S. Penske/Lehigh Athletics Hall of Fame
Gardiner, J. Bruce
J. Bruce Gardiner
- Induction:
- 2012
Bruce Gardiner has been a significant contributor to Lehigh Athletics now for over 40 years. He initially came to Lehigh in 1972 as the head men's swimming and diving coach and spent the next 17 years leading the Engineers in the pool. He oversaw the elevation of the women's swimming and diving program to varsity status in 1974 and took over as head coach of the women's program in 1980. He amassed a career record of 111-72, a winning percentage of .607 which at the time was the highest for any swimming coach in Lehigh’s history.
“The thing that struck me the most was knowing the other Lehigh coaches that are already in the Hall of Fame,” Gardiner said of his induction. “There are people I know and have tremendous respect for. To be mentioned in the same breath as coaches like John Whitehead, John Covert and Thad Turner blows me away.”
In 1976, Gardiner was appointed as Lehigh's first aquatic director, a position which gave him oversight of all phases of swimming and aquatics at the university. In the mid-1980s, he developed the men's and women's swimming and diving teams into contenders within the East Coast Conference. Gardiner mentored nine men and three women to a total of 20 individual ECC titles from 1976-88. In 1989, Gardiner turned over the swimming and diving programs to Chris Marshall '88, a student-athlete Gardiner recruited, coached and mentored, who went on to a stellar coaching career of his own.
“It wasn't about wins and losses, it was about working with the kids,” Gardiner explained. “We used to say that nobody remembers times or how fast you swam. The things that matter are how hard you worked, your attitude and what kind of teammate you were. That's the part I enjoyed the most, working with great people and great kids.”
Gardiner moved into the University's admissions area where he assumed the responsibility of the admissions for all prospective student-athletes, a position he held for 22 years until his retirement at the end of the 2010-11 academic year. Gardiner had several stints as Lehigh’s Interim Director of Admissions before assuming the role on a permanent basis in 2003 and holding that position for his final eight years.
“I want to congratulate Bruce on this well-deserved honor both has a coach and for his tenure in admissions,” said Lehigh head football coach Andy Coen. “Bruce was extremely helpful over the years and helping our program attract and recruit the type of student-athletes which have allowed us to achieve tremendous success.”
It his 22 years in admissions, Gardiner was responsible for the admission of every student-athlete to be part of a Patriot League Championship team, and the admission of more than 90 percent of the school record holders across all of Lehigh’s varsity sports. The 90 percent graduation rate of the student-athletes Gardiner worked with in admissions serves as a testimony to his appreciation for the culture and characteristics of Lehigh University and his ability to identify those in student-athlete candidates for admission.
“The similarities between coaching and working in admissions were pretty amazing,” Gardiner said. “Both are extremely competitive. You have to keep score in both. People are always watching.
“I really enjoyed the ability to play a small role,” Gardiner continued. “I have coached, so I know the challenges and I know how difficult recruiting can be. In my admissions role I tried to help the coaches make the academic side as easy as can be. Then, we when there's a kid we took a chance on who proves me right; that's very rewarding. It's unbelievably rewarding.”
Following his retirement from admissions, Gardiner reconnected with the Mountain Hawks’ swimming and diving program, and has served as a volunteer assistant coach since the 2011-12 season.
A native of Port Chester, New York, Gardiner graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1968 and added a master's degree in higher education from Springfield in 1972. Prior to his arrival at Lehigh, Gardiner spent four years as the head swimming coach at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut and was director of physical education at the Westport YMCA. Gardiner is married to his wife Kathy. They have two children, James and Heather ‘98.
“The thing that struck me the most was knowing the other Lehigh coaches that are already in the Hall of Fame,” Gardiner said of his induction. “There are people I know and have tremendous respect for. To be mentioned in the same breath as coaches like John Whitehead, John Covert and Thad Turner blows me away.”
In 1976, Gardiner was appointed as Lehigh's first aquatic director, a position which gave him oversight of all phases of swimming and aquatics at the university. In the mid-1980s, he developed the men's and women's swimming and diving teams into contenders within the East Coast Conference. Gardiner mentored nine men and three women to a total of 20 individual ECC titles from 1976-88. In 1989, Gardiner turned over the swimming and diving programs to Chris Marshall '88, a student-athlete Gardiner recruited, coached and mentored, who went on to a stellar coaching career of his own.
“It wasn't about wins and losses, it was about working with the kids,” Gardiner explained. “We used to say that nobody remembers times or how fast you swam. The things that matter are how hard you worked, your attitude and what kind of teammate you were. That's the part I enjoyed the most, working with great people and great kids.”
Gardiner moved into the University's admissions area where he assumed the responsibility of the admissions for all prospective student-athletes, a position he held for 22 years until his retirement at the end of the 2010-11 academic year. Gardiner had several stints as Lehigh’s Interim Director of Admissions before assuming the role on a permanent basis in 2003 and holding that position for his final eight years.
“I want to congratulate Bruce on this well-deserved honor both has a coach and for his tenure in admissions,” said Lehigh head football coach Andy Coen. “Bruce was extremely helpful over the years and helping our program attract and recruit the type of student-athletes which have allowed us to achieve tremendous success.”
It his 22 years in admissions, Gardiner was responsible for the admission of every student-athlete to be part of a Patriot League Championship team, and the admission of more than 90 percent of the school record holders across all of Lehigh’s varsity sports. The 90 percent graduation rate of the student-athletes Gardiner worked with in admissions serves as a testimony to his appreciation for the culture and characteristics of Lehigh University and his ability to identify those in student-athlete candidates for admission.
“The similarities between coaching and working in admissions were pretty amazing,” Gardiner said. “Both are extremely competitive. You have to keep score in both. People are always watching.
“I really enjoyed the ability to play a small role,” Gardiner continued. “I have coached, so I know the challenges and I know how difficult recruiting can be. In my admissions role I tried to help the coaches make the academic side as easy as can be. Then, we when there's a kid we took a chance on who proves me right; that's very rewarding. It's unbelievably rewarding.”
Following his retirement from admissions, Gardiner reconnected with the Mountain Hawks’ swimming and diving program, and has served as a volunteer assistant coach since the 2011-12 season.
A native of Port Chester, New York, Gardiner graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1968 and added a master's degree in higher education from Springfield in 1972. Prior to his arrival at Lehigh, Gardiner spent four years as the head swimming coach at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut and was director of physical education at the Westport YMCA. Gardiner is married to his wife Kathy. They have two children, James and Heather ‘98.
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