USC swimming coach Jeremy Kipp resigns amid abusive treatment allegations

USC men’s and women’s swimming coach Jeremy Kipp has resigned amid an investigation into multiple allegations of abusive treatment of Trojans swimmers .

Kipp stepped down Sunday after two seasons at the helm of a program he once told The Times was his “dream job.” The coach said in a statement announcing his resignation that he was stepping down “due to the difficulty of these last few months.”

Kipp had been on administrative leave since October while the university investigated allegations against the coach, who in 2020 became one of the first coaching hires made by current USC athletic director Mike Bohn.

In a statement announcing that Kipp resigned, Bohn expressed USC’s appreciation for “Jeremy’s nearly 10 years of service to our swim programs. We wish him well in his future endeavors.”

His second stint at USC turned out to be particularly tumultuous. A former USC assistant, Kipp was hired from Northwestern to replace longtime coach Dave Salo after a series of videoconference interviews during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bohn said at the time that the response from USC’s swimmers to his hire was “as validating a response to a coach hire that I’ve ever had in my career.”

That enthusiasm within the program quickly dissolved. An incident last April, which was first reported by SwimSwam.com, sparked an investigation that led the university to put Kipp on leave. Other allegations, the exact nature of which are still unclear, were levied against the coach ahead of October, when he was forced to step away from the team.

No mention of those allegations or the university’s investigation into Kipp’s conduct were made in the university’s announcement of his resignation Sunday. Instead, in his last words as USC’s coach, Kipp expressed pride for “what we were able to accomplish in such a short time.”

“I look forward to watching the Trojans’ continued success at the Pac-12 and NCAA championships for years to come,” Kipp said. “I am forever grateful for the support I’ve received from many of the athletes I’ve coached in my career.”

Both USC swim teams are ranked 11th nationally this season as associate head coach Lea Maurer took the helm in Kipp’s absence. Maurer will continue as coach until Kipp’s replacement is hired.