Bio

Mike Sutton, who had a storied career as the head coach of the CMS men's swimming and diving program for 21 years from 1979-2000, will assist both the Athena and Stag programs in 2023-24 for the second straight season. 

After his coaching career concluded, Sutton took over the helm as the director of athletics, a position he held from 2001-16, and again on an interim basis during the 2018-19 academic year. He currently serves at Claremont McKenna as the director of advancement for athletics.

Sutton spent 21 seasons as the Stags’ swimming and diving coach (1979-2000) and 19 seasons as the men’s water polo coach and won a combined 33 SCIAC titles in those 40 seasons. As head swimming and diving coach, Sutton coached the Stags to a 143-52 overall record, and 101-4 in SCIAC meets. A total of 22 individual swimmers were crowned as NCAA national champions under his leadership. In addition, his teams had six second-place finishes at the NCAA level.

In 1983, Sutton was chosen as the NCAA Division III Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year. He also coached the women’s swimming and diving team for a season (1999-2000). In his 19 years (1979-1997) as the men's water polo coach, Sutton’s teams won 15 SCIAC titles and three Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) titles, as he posted a 384-206-1 overall record, including 178-12 in SCIAC matches.

Sutton is a former member of the NCAA Swimming & Diving Rules Committee and the NCAA Water Polo Committee and was the team leader of the 1992 United States Olympic Water Polo Team. He is a 1976 graduate of Claremont McKenna College, and was a part of three SCIAC championship swimming and diving teams as a student-athlete. 

Sutton was inducted into the CMS Hall of Fame in 2016 and in 2022 he was honored as one of the ‘100 Greatest Coaches’ during the College Swimming Coaches Association centennial celebration.

In his first season back coaching in 23 years, Sutton helped the Athenas and Stags both win SCIAC titles in 2023, while helping CMS boast national champions on both the men's (Frank Applebaum) and women's (Augusta Lewis) side for the first time in program history.