Ableman Retires After 35 Years as Miami Head Diving Coach
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Randy Ableman announced his retirement Monday after 35 years as the University of Miami’s head diving coach, concluding one of the greatest coaching careers in NCAA and USA diving history.
Ableman, who arrived at UM in 1989, coached 14 divers to 26 individual national championships, coached 160 All-America performances, was named CSCAA Diving Coach of the Year nine times, won ACC Men’s Diving Coach of the Year six times, and earned ACC Women’s Diving Coach of the Year four times.
“Randy Ableman is one of the most decorated head coaches in the storied history of Miami Athletics,” Vice President/Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich said. “He put Hurricanes diving on the map – not just nationally but internationally – and served as a coach and mentor to hundreds of divers who represented this university in a first-class manner.
“I want to thank Randy for his dedication to our program and I wish him and his wife, Karen, all the best as they begin their next journey in life.”
Ableman has coached 17 Olympic divers and served on the Team USA coaching staff at five Summer Olympics – 1996 (Atlanta), 2000 (Sydney), 2004 (Athens), 2012 (London) and 2016 (Rio de Janeiro). He also assisted the South African coaching staff at the 2008 Games in Beijing. Prior to arriving in Coral Gables, Ableman served as the head coach at South Carolina (1985-89) and Wright State (1984).
Ableman earned BIG EAST Conference’s Men’s Diving Coach of the Year recognition in 2000, 2002 and 2003, and Women’s Coach of the Year four consecutive times from 2000-2003. In 2002, Ableman was honored by U.S. Diving as he was awarded the Phil Boggs Award, presented annually to honor those who have achieved individual excellence in diving and have given back a part of themselves to assure the sport’s continuation and success.
“I am very proud of the great student-athletes who have come through our diving program and everything we have accomplished,” Ableman said. “These kids came to Miami with a dream, and I just worked to make sure for all these years that they got there.
“Thank you to everyone at the University of Miami who has supported our program. I will forever remain a Miami Hurricane.”
A four-time All-American at Iowa, Ableman won the 1981 NCAA title in the 1-meter and qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. He is a member of both the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame (inducted in 2007) and University of Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame (2006). His wife, Karen, was the 1980 U.S. Indoor 1-meter champion.
