Kate Sweeney has announced her resignation as Ohio State's rowing coach.
On Wednesday, the 2012 Ohio State graduate and four-year head coach of the rowing program resigned as leader of the Buckeyes. She will finish out the season as coach when Ohio State competes at the NCAA championship regatta in Bethel, Ohio, this weekend.
“I have made the difficult decision to step away from coaching to be more present for my family,” Sweeney said in a program press release. “Ohio State rowing has been instrumental in my life since I was 18 years old. It has been a true privilege to be a part of this program for so long. ... I am so grateful to Gene Smith and Janine Oman for this opportunity. All the assistant coaches and support staff have been incredibly supportive and excellent to work with, and I will miss spending time with them. Lastly, and most importantly, I want to thank the student-athletes for their devotion and contributions to Ohio State rowing.”
Sweeney rowed for the Buckeyes from 2009-12 and won a Big Ten championship with the program in 2011. Following multiple seasons as an assistant at Indiana and California-Berkeley, Sweeney returned to Ohio State in 2016 and learned under veteran head coach Andy Teitelbaum. When Ohio State fired Teitelbaum in 2020, citing his dismissive attitude toward some of his athletes’ mental health concerns, Smith and Oman promoted Sweeney to full-time coach.
During Sweeney's four seasons in the role, Ohio State won a Big Ten title in 2022 and finished as runner-ups in 2021 and 2023. Sweeney was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2022. The Buckeyes also appeared in the NCAA championships all four years, finishing sixth in 2021, eighth in 2022 and 12th in 2023.
“We are so appreciative of Kate’s leadership and support of our rowing student-athletes,” Oman said. “She has been a wonderful developer of young women. We wish Kate well as she embarks on her next journey, and we are excited that she can enjoy more time with her family.”
Ohio State's search for a new head coach will begin immediately, according to the program's release.
