Tammy Swearingen, the all-time winningest coach in one sport in Titan history, is a seven-time Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Coach of the Year. Swearingen enters her 32nd season as head coach in 2024 and her 29th season serving as Westminster’s Assistant Director of Athletics.
Swearingen boasts a career record of 668-379 (.567), including 19 seasons with 20 or more wins and four 30-win seasons. The Titans have won six PAC titles (2002, 2007, 2008, 2019, 2020-21, 2021) under Swearingen since becoming eligible for the league crown in 2002.
In 2021, Westminster won its third consecutive PAC Title. The Titans finished the season with a record of 28-5 (18-0 in the PAC); the third time Westminster has gone unbeaten in conference playing since joining the PAC. Becky Adelman was named the PAC Player of the Year, the ninth player to earn the award with Swearingen at the helm.
In 2020-21, the Titans won their second-straight PAC Championship. Westminster finished 10-1 overall and a perfect 8-0 conference record - only the second time the Titans have gone undefeated in conference play since joining the PAC. Swearingen coached PAC Player of the Year outside hitter Maya Steward - the eighth player under Swearingen's tutelage to be named the conference's Player of the Year. In total, Swearingen has coached 103 all-conference/district players, including 43 First Team selections.
In 2019, Swearingen won her 600th career contest and became one of only 19 NCAA Division III volleyball coaches to achieve the 600-win milestone. In that same season, Reilly DeGeorge was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Mid-Atlantic All-Region Team - the first Titan to receive the honor since Westminster joined the NCAA Division III ranks. The Titans won their fourth PAC Title and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
In 2018, Westminster finished 30-4 for its fourth-straight 30-win season. The Titans season was highlighted by a school-record 19-match winning streak and a trip back to the PAC Championship match. Westminster also qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoffs for the third year-in-a-row.
In 2017, Westminster finished 30-6 for its third 30-win season. The Titans won the ECAC Tournament for the second time in school history, after going a perfect 4-0 in the tournament. Lexie Yoho was named the ECAC Tournament Most Valuable Player (MVP), who was also named the 2017 PAC Player of the Year.
In 2015, Swearingen won her 500th career match, becoming one of only 12 active NCAA Division III volleyball coaches to reach the milestone.
Swearingen was named PAC Coach of the Year for three-straight years from 2006-08, while guiding Westminster to back-to-back PAC titles and the school’s first two automatic bids to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2007 and 2008. Swearingen became one of only 32 active NCAA Division III volleyball coaches to win her 400th career match in 2010.
Prior to joining NCAA Division III and the PAC, Swearingen led the Titans to the ECAC Division II Championship in 2001 and the NAIA’s Keystone-Empire Collegiate Conference (KECC) title in 1997 and 1994. The 1997 team also won the NAIA Northeast Region tournament title and went to the NAIA national tournament for the first time.
Prior to coming to Westminster in 1992, Swearingen was the head volleyball coach at Mineral Ridge (1988-90) and Columbiana (1986-88) High Schools in her native Ohio. She was also the head softball coach at Columbiana from 1983 to 1988 and was the head swimming coach at Canfield High School from 1988 to 1991. She was the head women’s swimming coach at her alma mater, Youngstown State University, from 1984-87 (producing five All-Americans) after graduating from YSU in 1983.
Swearingen served on the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Board of Directors for eight years as the Division III representative. Swearingen was inducted into the Curbstone Coaches Hall of Fame in 2017.
