Jennifer Mangum enters her fifth season as the only Head Diving Coach in UTPB history.
The Falcon diving program has developed under Mangum, reaching new highs in 2020-21. Garrett Martin placed sixth in the nation in the 1-meter event, after finishing ninth in the nation in the 3-meter. Martin swept the New South Intercollegiate Swim Conference Championships, taking the 1- and 3-meter events and was named Male Diver of the Year. Martin earned All-American honors in the 1-meter and was an All-American honorable mention in the 3-meter. Martin wasn't the only diver with accolades. Matthew Lenzo and Tatum Robinson both earned All-NSISC Second Team honors. Mangum was then named the NSISC Male Diving Coach of the Year. The 2020-21 season also saw the addition of the first female diver to the program with Kira Thomas competing at the conference championships where she finished sixth in the 3-meter and seventh in the 1-meter.
The 2019-20 year was a historic one for the program as Mangum coached Martin to the NCAA National semifinals before competition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Martin earned a spot on the All-American Team, becoming the first swimming and diving athlete to do so since the program became NCAA sponsored, and was the first diver in program history to qualify for the National Championships.
Mangum herself is a Hall of Fame Diver in the Masters Division. Elected to the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 2014, Mangum has won 14 World Championships and over 100 national championships since 1990. Mangum coached high school diving in Midland and was a high school teacher for 24 years prior to starting the UTPB Diving program. She dove collegiately at Texas Tech where she was teammates with current Swim Head Coach Betsy Graham.
