Interim Tag Removed for Tamber McAllister as Head Coach at BYU

Photo Courtesy: BYU Athletics

Interim Tag Removed for Tamber McAllister as Head Coach at BYU

BYU on Wednesday named Tamber McAllister the new head coach of the BYU swimming program.

McAllister will oversee both teams, with Tyce Routson remaining in charge of both diving programs. McAllister replaces Shari Skabelund, who retired at the end of the season after 37 years in Provo. McAllister had been named the interim coach at the time.

McAllister has a long history at BYU. She was a student-athlete from 2000-04, a four-time Mountain West champion in the 200 breaststroke and still a top-five all-time performer in program history. That native of El Dorado Hills, Calif., competed at Olympic Trials in 2000 and received her bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 2004.

She would go on to spent a combined 16 years at BYU as an assistant coach, from 2005-11, then 2012-18 and most recently under Skabelund from 2021-24, including the transition to the Big 12 Conference.

“I express my gratitude to Tom Holmoe and Chad Lewis for their belief in me,” McAllister said in a university release. “It is an honor to serve as the head coach of swimming and diving as we continue to embark on our journey into the Big 12 Conference. The legacy established by previous BYU coaches has laid a strong foundation for the team’s future success, and I am genuinely thankful for that. The unwavering pride and spirit of the Cougars is unparalleled, and I eagerly look forward to remaining a part of it.”

BYU finished third in the men’s competition and fifth in women’s in the first season in the Big 12. The men’s team set program-bests with eight individual entries and three relay squads at the NCAA Championships. The Cougars scored points and earned All-American honors for the first time since 2016.

McAllister has been a head coach, spending 2018-21 leading Utah Tech’s program, guiding its transition to Division I and the Western Athletic Conference.

Her previous hiatus from BYU, in 2011-12, involved coaching the Wasatch Front Fish Market club and East High School in Salt Lake City.

“Tamber is ready and qualified to lead our swim and dive team with vision and energy,” said Chad Lewis, BYU associate athletic director and swim and dive sport administrator. “We are very excited about the future of this program.”

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