Dante Dettamanti, inducted into the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 2002 for his coaching success, is joining the recently reinstated San Jose State University men[apos]s water polo program as the assistant coach.
One of the country[apos]s legendary figures in the sport of water polo, Dettamanti coached the Stanford men[apos]s team to eight NCAA Championships, six runner-up finishes and 20 top-four placings in his 25 seasons (1977-2001) with the Cardinal. Six times, he was named the NCAA Coach of the Year in men[apos]s water polo.
[quote]Water polo has been my life. I believe I have the experience to help the program get off on the right foot and develop San Jose State into a top-notch program,[quote] says Dettamanti, who is one of two coaches in the sport with more than 600 career wins. At Stanford, the Cardinal was 570-148-6 and had undefeated seasons in 1981 and 1986. He also was the head coach at Occidental College in Southern California for four seasons (1970-73) and spent three seasons as UC Santa Barbara[apos]s head coach (1974-76).
[quote]It[apos]s exciting to start a program from scratch and help out. I feel I have so much to add to the sport.[quote]
Dettamanti also brings international coaching experience with him to San Jose State. He was the USA Men[apos]s National Team assistant coach from 1988 through 1991. The United States placed fifth at the 1989 FINA World Cup. In a second stint as an assistant with USA Water Polo, the American men placed seventh at the 2001 FINA World Championships.
[quote]We are delighted Coach Dettamanti is joining us as an assistant coach. He is highly-respected and well-connected in the sport of water polo and his knowledge of the sport at every level will be an asset to our program,[quote] says San Jose State University director of athletics Gene Bleymaier.
During his coaching career, his players received more than 100 All-America honors. Twelve players eventually would earn a position on a U.S. Olympic Men[apos]s Water Polo team.
Dettamanti comes to San Jose State after serving as a volunteer coach for the UC Davis men[apos]s program in 2013.
The 1965 UC Davis graduate majored in engineering and was a conference record-holding freestyle swimmer and an all-league water polo player. He went on to earn his master[apos]s degree in exercise physiology from UCLA in 1971.
San Jose State plans to compete again as a NCAA Division I program in men[apos]s water polo in 2015 after a 34-year absence in the sport.