PROVO, Utah — BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe has announced the hiring of Tamber McAllister as the Cougars’ swimming and diving head coach.
"I express my gratitude to Tom Holmoe and Chad Lewis for their belief in me," McAllister said. "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."
While McAllister will oversee both the men's and women's swim and dive programs, Tyce Routson will continue in his role as head coach of the BYU men's and women's dive teams.
McAllister’s coaching career at BYU stretches back almost two decades through three different stints as an assistant coach. Most recently, McAllister worked as an assistant coach from 2021-2024 under now-retired head coach Shari Skabelund. McAllister also held an assistant coaching position with the Cougars from 2012-2018 and 2005-2011. These followed McAllister’s decorated BYU swimming career from 2000-2004.
The 2024 season saw McAllister help the Cougars navigate their inaugural Big 12 campaign. Despite the challenges posed by unprecedented competition, BYU swimmers combined to finish the 2024 Big 12 Championships with two individual champions and 24 all-conference honors. The BYU men finished third in the Big 12 while the women took fifth.
McAllister also had a hand in the BYU men’s historic success at the 2024 NCAA Championships. The Cougars set school records for swimming entries, at eight, and relay entries, with three. Each of McAllister’s most recent three seasons at BYU align with the first three-year stretch in program history where a men’s swimmer has qualified for NCAA Championships in three different events.
In 2024, the BYU men also registered their first team points and All-American honors since 2016.
"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."
McAllister’s combined 16-year tenure as an assistant at BYU, includes her role in nine All-American performances and 49 individual conference championships along with eight team conference titles.
Cougar swimmers have set 37 school records under McAllister’s tutelage, 13 of which came in 2024.
McAllister’s vast assistant coaching experience is enhanced by three previous years of head coaching at Utah Tech (2018-2021). Following her first two stints as a BYU assistant, McAllister left Provo to accept Utah Tech’s women’s head coaching position.
McAllister led the Trailblazers to third-place finishes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in each of her first two seasons. The RMAC honored McAllister as its 2020 Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year. In 2021, McAllister oversaw Utah Tech’s transition to competing at the Division I level as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. McAllister concluded her tenure at Utah Tech with swimmers breaking over 70 program records.
In between assistant coaching roles at BYU, McAllister led the Wasatch Front Fish Market club team during the 2011-12 season. McAllister also coached for a season at East High School in Salt Lake City prior to returning to coach at BYU.
While a student athlete at BYU from 2000-2004, McAllister specialized in the breaststroke and garnered four Mountain West Conference Championships in the women’s 200 breast. Her career-best 200 breast time of 2:14.69, set in 2001, remains fifth all-time at BYU. Prior to putting on a BYU uniform, McAllister competed at the 2000 U.S. Olympic Trials where she finished 12th and 27th, respectively, in the 200 and 100 breast.
McAllister graduated from BYU in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in exercise science. A native of El Dorado Hills, California, McAllister and her husband, Eric, are the parents of four children.