Jean-Paul Gowdy begins his seventh season at the helm of the men's and women's swimming & diving programs. During his first six years, Gowdy helped lift Wheaton to new heights.

He pushed the women to at least nine wins each of the last five seasons, and the squad's third-place showing at each of the past two New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships was the best in program history. Last winter, the Lyons recorded a team finish at the NCAA Championship for the first time, and Gowdy was lauded as the NEWMAC's Women's Swimming Coach of the Year. He earned an American Swimming Coaches Association (ASCA) Certificate of Excellence in 2007.

On the men's side, Gowdy has twice helped the Lyons finish as high as fourth place during the NEWMAC Championship while leading the squad to the school's victories mark on two occasions. In 2005, Wheaton had its first swimmer garner NCAA All-America honors at the national championship.

Gowdy came to Wheaton from Springfield College, where he served as a graduate assistant swim coach. At Springfield, Gowdy was responsible for coaching sprinters, coordinating the recruiting process, teaching undergraduate-level physical education courses and handling home meet management. During his time there, the Pride captured the women's conference championship for the third straight year in 2003.

In his 14 years of coaching competitive swimming, Gowdy has pursued endeavors with camps at national power Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, in the summers of 2000-08, and Stanford University in the summer of 2001. Additionally, he was the assistant coach at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, in 2000-01, age group coach at Green Mountain Aquatics in Middlebury, Vermont, from 1995-99 and swim lesson coordinator and teacher at Middlebury College from 1996-99.

An elite athlete in his own right, Gowdy earned USA Triathlon All-America honors in 2003 and 2005. He also trained with Canada's national swim team at the University of Calgary in 1999-2000 and competed at the Olympic trials, where he qualified for the semifinals in three events. At Middlebury, Gowdy was a national champion in the 400-yard individual medley, a 17-time NCAA All-America athlete and two-time MVP of the New England Conference.

Gowdy is a 1999 graduate of Middlebury, where he earned a bachelor's degree in economics with minors in political science and history. In 2008, Gowdy completed work at Springfield on a master's degree in physical education with a specialization in advanced-level coaching.