Terry Schroeder To Return As Pepperdine's Men's Water Polo Head Coach In 2013

The Pepperdine Waves men's water program is getting a big boost as they will be getting Terry Schroeder back as their head water polo coach beginning Jan. 1, 2013. Prior to being named an assistant to the men's national team in 2005 and then a year later he became the head coach.

Schroeder had been the head coach at Pepperdine from 1986-2005 and recored a record of 340-220, led the team to eight NCAA Championship berths and also won a national championship in 1997 which was the program's first.

Schroeder will serve a volunteer head coach this fall assisting Gary O'Brien who has been the men's interim coach for the past four seasons.

Director of Athletics Dr. Steve Potts announced on July 10 that Schroeder would return to be the men's head coach:

"We are so excited to welcome Terry Schroeder back home to lead our men's water polo program," Potts announced.

"Terry is one of the most accomplished student-athletes in Pepperdine history, led our team to an NCAA National Championship as head coach and has distinguished himself as head coach of the USA National team. Most importantly, Terry strongly supports the University's Christian mission and he will be a great role model for our student-athletes.

"Gary O'Brien will continue to serve as our interim head coach until Terry joins us on a full-time basis," Potts added. "Gary has done a great job in this capacity and we are looking forward to a successful fall season."

Schroeder also commented on his return to the college game:

"I am very excited to be coming back to Pepperdine," Schroeder shared. "I am looking forward to many more years here. Pepperdine is a very special place to me."

This might be a likely indication that Schroeder will be stepping down as the men's national team coach after the 2012 London Olympics. There has been no indication that Schroeder would step down but he will have been part of the national team staff for the past seven years, with six of those as the head coach.

For more water polo news, join the conversation with us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+