
Ben O'Grady Joins Louisville Rowing Coaching Staff
August 15, 2007 | Rowing
Aug. 15, 2007
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Former Florida Tech men's rowing head coach Ben O'Grady has been hired as varsity assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the University of Louisville women's rowing program Cards' head coach Laura Fogt announced Wednesday.
"I'm thrilled to have Coach O'Grady join the Louisville rowing coaching staff," said Fogt, who was introduced as the Cards' head coach on July 6. "His passion for rowing and coaching will be a great asset to the program and there's no question he will contribute greatly to the continued development of the athletes."
O'Grady arrives in Louisville after serving as head coach at Florida Tech for two seasons where he led the Division II Panthers to a third-place finish in the Varsity 8+ race at the 2007 Dad Vail Regatta as well as a first-place finish in the Freshman Lightweight 8+. The program also earned back-to-back Open 8+ titles at the Florida Intercollegiate Rowing Association State Championship Regatta in 2006-07 and won the high-point trophy in 2006.
"Early on, it was clear that Coach O'Grady was the best candidate for this position," Fogt said. "His energy and drive has brought much success to his crews and I look forward to working with him to provide our student-athletes with the best possible experience on the race course, in the classroom and within our community."
Prior to leading the Florida Tech program, O'Grady served three seasons as the head coach of the men's rowing club at the University of Central Florida. While at UCF, O'Grady helped build the club from the bottom of the FIRA to a second-place finish in the Varsity 8+ race at the 2005 State Championship Regatta, the highest finish for UCF in 14 years. He also led the Golden Knights to a second-place finish in the Varsity 4+ event at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships that same season.
Before moving to UCF, O'Grady was an assistant coach from 2000-01 for the Duke University women's rowing program, which earned a Top 20 national ranking for the first time in school history that same season. O'Grady also has previous coaching experience at the Riverside Boat Club in Cambridge, Mass., and the University of Texas.
Prior to moving into the coaching ranks, O'Grady was a successful collegiate rower at the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelor's degree in electronic intermedia in 1999. During his collegiate rowing career, O'Grady was a rower and a coxswain for the Gators, was named team captain in 1997-98 and was named Most Valuable Athlete in 1997. He was an important member of the Gators' bronze medaling crew in the Lightweight Varsity 8+ race at the Dad Vail Regatta in 1998.



