Terisa "Teri" J. McKeever (born November 6, 1961) is an American former college and Olympic

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

coach. She was the head coach of the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

women's swimming team at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, from 1993 until her firing in 2023. Her Cal Bears teams have won four

NCAA national championships Listed below are the colleges or universities with the most NCAA Division I-sanctioned team championships, individual championships, and combined team and individual championships, as documented by information published on official NCAA websites ...

. McKeever served as an assistant coach for the United States Olympic women's swim team three times (2004, 2008, and 2020), and as the head coach of the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's swim team.CalBears.com, Women's Swimming & Diving

Retrieved May 25, 2022

Early years

McKeever was born on November 6, 1961, to athletic parents Judy and Mike McKeever, the oldest child in a family of ten children. Assuming various responsibilities early as the oldest sibling in a large family, she attended Escondido, California's San Pasqual High School (Escondido, California), San Pasquale High School where she was the first girl elected President of the Student Council.CalBears.com, Women's Swimming & Diving
Teri McKeever
. Retrieved October 22, 2012. She started swimming and observing the role of a coach at an early age, with her mother Judy coaching her, her brothers, and other youngsters at the Hidden Valley Swim club in the 25-yard pool in their back yard. Demonstrating early talent, she began setting national age group records by the age of 12 and by 14 attended her first Olympic trials."McKeever", ''Oakland Tribune'', Oakland, California, Oakland, California, January 3, 2011, pg. 1, 11 Her father, Mike McKeever, and her father's twin brother, Marlin McKeever, both attended the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, and were both first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

linemen for the

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents the University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...

team in 1959. When Teri was only six years old, her father Mike died in 1967 from head injuries received in a 1965 car accident, after twenty-two months in a coma. Her mother later remarried, and had seven more children with her second husband. The family athletic influence remained strong, with all of her nine siblings participating in a variety of sports. Her sisters Kristi and Kelli were members of the U.S. national field hockey team.

College career

McKeever attended the

(USC), where she swam for the USC Trojans women's swimming and diving team under Hall of Fame Head Coach Peter Daland from 1980 to 1983 was a member of the international women's fraternity

Alpha Gamma Delta Alpha Gamma Delta (), also known as Alpha Gam, is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity and social organization. It was founded in 1904 at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is the youngest m ...

by 1981. She competed in four NCAA national championships and contributed to the Trojans' four straight national top-ten finishes. She received All-America honors in swimming in 1980 and 1981, and following her 1983 senior season, was recognized as the university's outstanding student-athlete. She graduated from USC with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in education in 1983, and later earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in athletic administration in 1987.

Coaching career

McKeever began coaching as an assistant coach at USC from 1984 to 1987. She was the head coach of the

women's swimming team at the

starting in the 1992–93 academic year. Since 1996–97 (her fifth season as head coach), her California Bears swim teams consistently finished among the top ten Division I college teams in the nation. The Bears women won five

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

team championships, and four

(2009, 2011, 2012, 2015). She was named

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

Coach of the Year nine times and College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Coach of the Year five times. After USC and before going to the Cal Bears, McKeever was the head coach of the Women's swimming team at Fresno State University in Fresno, California from 1988-1992. McKeever's Cal Bears program has produced more than 25 members of the U.S. Olympic team, including Haley Cope,

Natalie Coughlin Natalie Anne Coughlin Hall (born August 23, 1982) is an American former competition swimmer and twelve-time Olympic medalist. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, she became the first woman ever to swim the World record progre ...

Emily Silver Emily Susan Silver (born October 9, 1985) is an American competitive swimmer, Olympic medalist, and swim coach. She was a member of the silver-medal-winning U.S. team of the 4×100 metre freestyle relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She compete ...

Jessica Hardy Jessica Adele Hardy Meichtry (born March 12, 1987) is an American competitive swimmer who specializes in breaststroke and freestyle events. Hardy earned a bronze medal in the 4×100-meter freestyle and a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley r ...

Dana Vollmer Dana Whitney Vollmer (born November 13, 1987) is a former American competition swimmer, five-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal as a member of the winning United States ...

, Caitlin Leverenz, Rachel Bootsma,

Missy Franklin Melissa Franklin Johnson (née Franklin; born May 10, 1995) is an American former competitive swimmer and five-time Olympic gold medalist. She held the world record in the 200-meter backstroke (long course) from 2012 to 2019. As a member of the ...

Kathleen Baker Kathleen Baker (born February 28, 1997) is an American competition swimming (sport), swimmer who specializes in freestyle swimming, freestyle and backstroke swimming, backstroke events. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in the Sw ...

, and Abbey Weitzeil. Other notable swimmers include

Elizabeth Pelton Elizabeth Anne Pelton (born November 26, 1993) is a former American competitive swimmer, multi FINA world champion, multi NCCA Champion, and 4x former American Record holder. Pelton also secured NCAA Swimmer of the Year, NCAA Swimmer of the Meet ...

and Isabel Ivey. She served as an assistant coach for the United States Olympic women's swimming team at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, and the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing, China Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

.John Crumpacker,
Cal's Teri McKeever set to coach U.S. Olympic team
" ''San Francisco Chronicle'' (June 27, 2012). Retrieved October 22, 2012.Vicki Michaelis,

" ''USA Today'' (December 9, 2010). Retrieved October 22, 2012. In December 2010, she was selected as the head coach of the 2012 U.S. Olympic women's swim team that competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She was the first woman to serve as the head coach of a U.S. women's national swim team at the Olympics. She previously served as the head coach the U.S. women's national team for the

2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eleventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Irvine, California, United States, from August 18–22. M ...

. In 2014, she was inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Hall of Fame.

Allegations of bullying and release from CAL

On May 24, 2022, it was reported that Coach McKeever was accused of the alleged bullying and emotional/verbal abuse of Cal swimmers dating back to 2014. According to media, "At least 26 people have alleged that Cal women's swimming head coach Teri McKeever has created a toxic culture rampant with severe verbal and emotional abuse that has led to significant mental and physical health ramifications for team members." The same day, the

released a statement confirming the allegations but their privacy policy prevented the University from commenting on the case. In January 2023, the University of California released McKeever after an eight month investigation by an independent law firm that revealed policy violations relating to discrimination by race, national origin, and disability, as well as instances of verbal abuse of student athletes. In a statement, McKeever denied and refuted the claims of discrimination and abuse made in the report and believed she was a victim of gender bias.

Personal

McKeever married Jerry Romani in 2007, after they met at a

California Golden Bears football The California Golden Bears football program represents the University of California, Berkeley, in college football as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. They were previously a member of the Pac-12 Confer ...

game.

References

External links

Teri McKeever
– University of California coach profile at CalBears.com {{DEFAULTSORT:McKeever, Teri 1961 births Living people Olympic coaches for the United States American swimming coaches California Golden Bears swimming coaches USC Trojans women's swimmers USC Rossier School of Education alumni USC Trojans swimming coaches Fresno State Bulldogs swimming coaches