Swimming and Diving Adds Bish To Coaching Staff

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Head Coach, Milana Socha, has announced the hiring of Blair Bish to join the coaching staff ahead of the 2024-25 season.

"I believe that Blair will be a fantastic addition to our coaching staff and really help continue to elevate our program. He has a proven track record of helping swimmers drop time and jump up to the next level of their sport and will bring a great personality and on-deck presence for our team. Blair truly feels like a great fit for our program, and I am looking forward to working together in The Woods!" said Socha.

Bish brings over two decades of swimming experience as a coach and athlete. In addition to coaching, he will also help with operations and recruiting.

Bish joins the Dartmouth staff from Springfield, Missouri after three years leading Springfield Aquatics as head coach. There, he helped multiple swimmers place top 3 at Speedo Junior Nationals, and swimmers earned new qualifying times for World Championship Trials, US Open, Junior Nationals, Futures, and Sectionals. His women's squad finished 8th at Winter Junior Nationals, 1st at Region VIII Sectionals, and he was nominated for Region VIII and Arkansas Coach of the Year.

While in Springfield, Bish also served as an assistant coach with Division-II powerhouse Drury University where he provided coaching to all training groups and helped with meet operations. The men's team earned three consecutive runner-up finishes at the NCAA Championships, and the men's and women's teams combined for three GLVC conference championships.

Bish also coached Paralympian Haven Shepherd to a spot on the national team for three years and an international gold medal at the 2023 Para Pan-American Games.

Before his time in Springfield, Bish spent one year in the St. Louis area as an assistant coach with the national group at Parkway Swim Club where he helped multiple swimmers earn Sectionals championships and helped them transition to college programs.

Bish started his coaching career as an age group coach with Missouri State Aquatics in Springfield while finishing his degree.

Before coaching, Bish was a lifelong competitive swimmer. He was a four-time letter winner and seven time All-American at the University of Arizona and Missouri State University. He was named Junior and Senior Athlete of the Year at Missouri State and earned the highest finish in team history by placing 10th at the NCAA Championships. He still holds team and conference records in the 100-yard breaststroke (51.93) and put up the eighth fastest relay split in history as the breaststroke leg on the 200-medley relay (22.93).

Bish graduated from Missouri State University in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in Digital Media Production.

Bish originally hails from Little Rock, Arkansas where he competed for the Arkansas Dolphins swim team. He won the 2014 Junior National Championships in the 100-yard breaststroke in meet record time, won multiple Sectionals Championships, and was named Arkansas Swimmer of the Year thirteen times over the course of his career. He was elected to be inducted into the Arkansas Swimming Hall of Fame in 2025.

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