Andy Ward

Head Coach, Diving
E-mail: andyward@chartermi.net
Telephone: 906-228-4787
At NMU Since 2005-06

Andy Ward coached Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) 1-meter Champion Michelle Ruiz during the 2005-06 season. She placed second on the 3-meter board at the conference meet. Ruiz qualified for the NCAA-II National Swimming and Diving Championships finishing 10th overall on the one meter board.

Ward is no stranger to NMU or its aquatic scene. He was a diver on the 1979-80 NMU Men’s Swimming and Diving Team and he is a 1989 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education, where he earned cum laude honors.

Ward was the interim diving coach at NMU during the 1999-2000 season. He led first year diver Katie Richter to a first place finish on the one-meter board at that year's GLIAC meet where she also finished third on the three meter. From 2001 through 2003, Andy was the diving coach at Marquette Area Public Schools. He had coached on a volunteer basis for many local schools over the previous 20 years.

"Northern’s program and facilities are top notch," said Ward. "I really love to coach divers and I am excited to be a part of this program." "My goal is to develop this diving program into one of the top programs in our conference." "I am ready, willing, and able to do what it takes to get us there."

Andy is a 1978 graduate of Gwinn High School where he was a four-time letter winner in both golf and swimming. His wife, Marie, and he have just recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and live here in Marquette. They have a son, Brandon, an NMU student, and a daughter, Elyse, a sophomore at Marquette High School.