Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference

Lee Ahlbrecht is a 1966 graduate of Bemidji State University who returned in 1968 to begin an exemplary coaching career for the Beaver. In 23 years of coaching (1968-1991) his swim teams compiled a 150-49 record. He coached 151 All-Americans, four national champions and seven Olympic trial qualifiers. He had 56 student-athletes go on to become coaches. His teams finished in the top 20 nationally every year, including 12 top ten finishes and four fourth place finishes. In 1980 & 1990 he was honored by both the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) as the National Swimming Coach of the Year. He was inducted into the Minnesota State Swimming and Diving Coaches’ Hall of Fame in 1996 and then to the Bemidji State University Hall of Fame in 2000.
Ahlbrecht was also an active member in the American Red Cross for 30 years as a volunteer as a Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard instructor from 1968 until 1998. He was also the World Games Diving Committee Member in 1978-79 and was the NAIA President of the Swimming & Diving Coaches Association in 1984.