Ithaca College Director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreational Sports,
Susan Bassett '79, announced on December 12, 2016 that Dan Swanstrom has been named the 10th head coach for the prestigious football program on South Hill.
Swanstrom, a native of Texas and 2005 graduate of Rhodes College, joined Ithaca after previous stints at Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins and the University of Redlands.
Through four seasons as the head coach at IC, Swanstrom has led the Bombers program to an overall record of 24-9, including the third straight 8-3 campaign in 2019. The 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his first season at the helm of the Ithaca program, Swanstrom guided the Bombers to an 8-3 overall record and a share of the Liberty League regular season title. After an 0-2 start to the season, the Bombers capped off the season with eight wins in nine games, including a 48-20 victory over Cortland in the 59th Cortaca Jug Game to snap a seven-year losing streak. IC also defeated Salisbury, 27-20, in the ECAC Scott Whitelaw Bowl to cap off the best season for the program in four years.
The Bombers averaged 24.5 points per game in 2017 and 372.8 yards of offense. On the defensive side, IC held its opposition to 15.3 points and 284.6 yards.
Swanstrom oversaw the development of freshman Wahid Nabi, who was named Liberty League Rookie of the Year, after a breakout first season with Ithaca. Nabi threw for 2,552 yards and 16 touchdown, and completed 63.6-percent of his passes. Against Cortland, Nabi set a school record with six touchdown passes.
In 2019, Ithaca was ranked as high as No. 8 in the country after a 7-0 start. The Bombers possessed one of the top offenses in Division III and finished the year averaging 37.6 points per game. Transfer quarterback Joe Germinerio set school records in total passing yards, completions, attempts and passing yards per game. Senior Will Gladney finished his career as the program's all-time leader in receptions, yards and touchdowns.
Prior to his arrival at Ithaca, Swanstrom was the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at Penn, which won back-to-back Ivy League Championships in 2015 and 2016. Swanstrom oversaw the growth of Alek Torgersen, a two-time First-Team All-Ivy selection, to one of the greatest careers at Penn, as he is just the second signal caller in school history to pass for more than 7,000 yards. Torgersen would go on to sign a professional contract with the Atlanta Falcons in 2017.
During his time at Hopkins from 2008-13, Swanstrom began as a quarterbacks coach and was quickly promoted to offensive coordinator and then to associate head coach. Hopkins won five Centennial Conference titles while Swanstrom was on the sidelines, and the Blue Jays averaged more than 500 yards of offense in three different seasons. Four straight players were named the conference's player of the year under Swanstrom's watch. Every significant offensive team record in school history was broken during his tenure as the offensive coordinator and no less than 75 individual records fell during that time.
His collegiate coaching career began at the University of Redlands from 2006-08. He was the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach during his time there and Redlands won the 2007 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Swanstrom also coached one season as a high school coach at Stratford High School in Texas, where he coached current Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.
As a student-athlete at Rhodes, Swanstrom was a two-time captain, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a Gagliardi Trophy finalist. He also played in the German Football League with the Darmstadt Diamonds after graduation.
Swanstrom and his wife, Kristin, have three children.
6/29/21
