Details for Casey Converse of Celebration of Life Unveiled

Rosie says they plan to stream the event on Facebook for people can’t make it in person.

• Read more about Converse’s legacy here.

Converse died earlier this month after a long battle with cancer. The 66-year-old was a member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic Team when he was only 18 years old and later would go on to become the first man to break 15 minutes in the 1650 yard free when at the 1977 NCAA Championships he swam 14:57.30.

Courtesy: Family Photo

After college, he went on to a long coaching career, most famously at the United States Air Force Academy. He coached there from 1988-2017, leading the men’s and women’s teams from 1988-1996 and focusing on just the women’s team starting in 1997 as the school moved from D2 to D1 athletics.

In 2021, Converse was named as one of the 100 greatest collegiate coaches for the Collegiate Swimming & Diving Coaches’ Association (CSCAA) 100-year anniversary.

The winningest coach in Air Force history with a career record of 326-217 in 29 seasons leading the programs, including 5 women’s conference championships. He was the first non-military swim coach in the academy’s history and was inducted into the Air Force Athletics Hall of Fame in 2023.

In 2016, Converse wrote a book called Munich to Montreal: Women’s Olympic Swimming in a Tarnished Golden Era that told the story of the East German state-sponsored doping era at the 1976 Olympic Games, for which he had a front-row seat.

Since Converse died, a number of tributes to him have poured out across social media, including by his daughter.