Brad Dunn dove into the role of director of men’s and women’s swimming at University of Lynchburg in August 2018. Dunn oversaw the reestablishment of the Hornets' NCAA Division III swimming programs, which have been on hiatus since the 1970-71 academic year.
The 2022-23 season featured th emen's team's biggest jump in ODAC championship meet points year-over-year with 606 points finishing econd. The women placed third and the two squads combined for 18 student-athletes earning postseason awards. Colton Schnars won the ODAc swimmer of year honor while Matt Field and Lindsey Hair swept the ODAC/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards.
In 2020-21, only the second year of the program's regeneration, Dunn led the Lynchburg women to an Old Dominion Athletic Conference title and guided the Hornet men to a championship runner-up finish. For his efforts, he won the women's coach of the year honor in the league. Twenty-eight of his swimmers earned All-ODAC accolades, and his swimmers combined for 11 individual and relay conference championships. Freshman Delaney Kennedy won women's rookie of the meet honors for Lynchburg.
Lynchburg began competition in the ODAC in 2019-20 and enjoyed the most successful season for a first-year program in league history. Both Lynchburg's men's and women's teams earned fourth-place finishes at the conference championship meet in February, seeing a combined eight swimmers named All-ODAC. Freshman Parker Hayungs earned the men's rookie of the meet honor, and freshman Claire Galloway earned the program's first-ever NCAA Division III 'B' standard in the women's 100-yard breaststroke.
For his part, the Virginia Sports Information Directors voted Dunn as the 2020 men's and 2021 women's College Division All-State Coach of the Year.
Dunn came to Lynchburg from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he was an assistant for the past year. Prior to Southwestern, Dunn spent four seasons as an assistant at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., where he helped the Lynx's women's team to its first-ever Southern Athletic Association title in 2015. Dunn and the Rhodes staff were named coaching staff of the year in 2014, 2015, and 2016.
A graduate of Virginia's own University of Mary Washington, Dunn starred for the Eagles in the pool between 2007-11. He helped UMW to four Capital Athletic Conference championships and set league records in the 1,000- and 1,650-yard freestyle events. Two of his relay events also set conference records. Dunn was a selection on the CAC's Silver Anniversary Team in 2015.
Dunn has connections to club swimming around the Commonwealth. In his high school years, he swam for Williamsburg Aquatic Club and longtime coach Harold Baker. After graduating from UMW, he stayed in the Northern Virginia working as an age group coach for national power Nation's Capital Swim Club before moving into the collegiate coaching ranks.
The Williamsburg native holds a degree in Spanish with an economics minor from Mary Washington and a master's in business administration from the University of Memphis.
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