Jim Southerland joined the University of Idaho staff in the fall of 2015 as the Vandals' diving coach and enters his eighth season in 2022-23.
The 2021-22 season was a pretty successful year for the Vandals Dive team. Southerland finished the season by taking two divers to the Zone Championships. Heather Hopkins placed second at the 2021-22 WAC championships in the 1-meter event while teammate Emily Mack placed fourth in the 3-meter event.
The 2020-21 season was as chaotic as any ever due to protocols and safety restrictions in regard to the Covid-19 pandemic. Southerland and the Vandal diving squad were hit hard with restrictions but made the most of the situation anyway. Freshman Emily Mack was exceptional in her first season and earned a trip to the finals in all three diving events at the 2021 WAC Championships, including a third-place finish in the platform dive.
In 2019-20, Southerland helped mentor a predominantly young diving roster while also leading senior Heather Carbon to her best year with the Silver and Gold.
Southerland’s first four years in Moscow included four straight WAC Championships for Janelle Lucas in the platform. Despite not having a home pool to train in, Lucal dominated the event in each of her four seasons as a Vandal.
Southerland came to Idaho after 26 years as the head coach and owner of Pacific Northwest Diving and 24 years as the Auburn (Wash.) District High School Diving coach.
"Coach Southerland is a tremendous hire for the Vandals,” said Mark Sowa, head swimming and diving coach at Idaho. “Jim has been not only one of the best club coaches in the Pacific Northwest for the last 25 years but in the country as well. He has consistently developed talent to a national level and his hire illustrates the commitment that we have to the diving portion of our team.”
Southerland, a 1977 graduate of Central Missouri State, has coached at the Junior World Championships, was a mentor coach for USA Diving, coached 15 junior and AAU national champions, was on the board of directors for the Washington Association of U.S. Diving for 20 years, and is the AAU Northwest Diving Representative, in addition to serving on numerous USA Diving committees.
