Patrick Snively was promoted to Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Fairmont State University during January of 2019. Snively also serves as head men's and women's swim coach at Fairmont State.
He was also recently named to the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Board of Directors this past June.
Entering his 20th year working in the Department of Athletics, Snively assists with the day-to-day operations of the department providing support and leadership development to all athletics staff members and coaches. Snively also works specifically with student-athlete development – a new institutional initiative aimed to enhancing the student-athlete experience.
Snively serves in a key role for the Fairmont State athletic administration, assisting the Director of Athletics with day-to-day functions and providing department leadership in each of the following areas: administration, fundraising, coach leadership development, policy implementation, strategic planning, promotional strategies, and diversity and inclusion programming.
"We are extremely fortunate to have Pat remain as a member of our Athletics Administration team, and we are very happy that he has agreed to help form this new leadership development position - a very important initiative that will position us as leaders in this area for our student-athletes," said then-Director of Athletics Chad Fowler during Snively’s promotion announcement. "We are also pleased to have Pat returning as head swim coach. The Fairmont State swim programs have been very successful over the past two decades and we are looking forward to continued success in the pool."
Prior to taking over his new role during 2018-19, Snively served as Associate Director of Athletics for NCAA Compliance, a position he had held since 2012-13.
During 2017-18, Snively led the Falcon women's swim team to the first-ever Mountain East Conference Championship, with senior Marlena Dudek becoming the only swimmer in the MEC to earn All-America honors at the 2018 NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Championships. The Falcons swept MEC Swimmer of the Year honors with Dudek on the women's side and Alex Quintao on the men's side. Fairmont State freshman Courtney Deem also earned MEC Freshman of the Year honors, and was named the Swimmer of the Meet at the 2017-18 GMAC/MEC Championships.
Snively earned MEC Coach of the Year honors for his efforts that season. The conference championship was also the first for the Fairmont State women’s program.
During the 2018-19 championships, the Fairmont State women placed second, while the men’s team placed third. Fairmont State’s Courtney Deem earned Swimmer of the Meet honors for the second-consecutive season during the four-day championship event. The Falcons were also well represented in the MEC postseason awards with Deem earning MEC Swimmer of the Year honors, and Majester Abdul-Jalil being named the MEC Freshman of the Year on the men’s side.
At this year’s MEC Swimming Championships, Fairmont State took second place on both the men’s and women’s side of the meet. A Fairmont State swimmer also earned Swimmer of the Year honors in the MEC for the third-consecutive season after Pedro Gaspar garnered the honor in 2019-20. This past winter and spring the Fairmont State swim teams combined for 14 individual MEC Championships and 32 all-conference performances. The team also set two Feaster Center Pool records and Fairmont State swimmers earned MEC Swimmer of the Week honors 10 times during the season.
During his 20 years at Fairmont State, Snively was awarded the American Swimming Coaches Association Certificate of Excellence nine times and was also named the WVIAC men’s Coach of the Year in 2005. He has coached swimmers to 26 All-American performances, 77 school records, eight National Swimmer of the Week honors and conference Swimmer of the Year recognition 11 times.
Snively received his bachelor’s degree from Fairmont State in 1999 and his master’s degree in 2000 from West Virginia University. He recently earned a Master’s in Business Administration from Fairmont State.
In the fall of 2012, Snively was recognized by the Fairmont State Alumni Association as an “Outstanding Young Alumnus” for his distinguished career as a coach and his service to the Fairmont community.
In his 20th season coaching at Fairmont State, Patrick Snively is the longest serving head swimming coach at a single institution in the state of West Virginia.
The men's program has achieved All-American status on 19 occasions, Academic All-American status three times, conference Swimmer of the Year awards nine times, and have finished in the top 20 in the nation on four occasions under Snively.
In 2007, Snively coached Colebank and Feaster Award winner and 12-time All-American Matej Tomas to a runner-up finish in the 200 butterfly at the NCAA championships. In 2010, Emir Atilgan set a new school record in the 1000 freestyle and achieved an NCAA ‘B’ standard. In 2014, Pasko Komadina competed in four events at the NCAA Championships, earning honorable mention All-America honors in the 200 freestyle with a time of 1:38.83. In addition, David Dent was named the 2014 Colebank Award winner and Ryan Radcliff received the Feaster Award for having the highest GPA among senior athletes. Radcliff also earned Scholar All-America honors from CSCAA for having over a 3.5 GPA and achieving a "B" standard time during the season.
In the spring of 2015, Komadina was honored with the Colebank award, honoring the top male senior athlete in the Fairmont State athletic department. In 2016, senior Luka Dilas was honored by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) as a Scholar All-American, achieving a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher and turning in a "B" time standard.
The Falcon women’s program has earned Academic All-American honors in 19 of the last 20 years from the CSCAA and has achieved the highest GPA of any Division II institution on two occasions. In 2003, Toni Riley was named NCAA Woman of the Year for the state of West Virginia. In 2009, West Virginia native Cassie Lutz set school records in the 200 butterfly and 400 IM and qualified for the NCAA Championships. Fairmont native Kathryn Saurborn earned All-America honors in the 50 free in 2012. Saurborn was the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Swimmer of the Year and qualified for two other events in the NCAA Championships. As a senior in 2013, Saurborn took home All-America honors three times, earning first team honors in the 50 free and 100 butterfly and honorable mention honors in the 100 free for the second-consecutive year.
In 2017, Marlena Dudek qualified for the NCAA Division II Swimming Championships in Birmingham, Ala. in both the 100 and 200 breaststroke events. At the NCAA Championships, Dudek placed second in the consolation final of the 200 breaststroke to bring home All-America honorable mention honors.
Dudek returned to the NCAA Championships in 2018 in both events, earning first team All-America honors in the 200 breaststroke following her fifth place finish at the NCAA Championships in Greensboro, N.C.
Active in the community, Snively volunteers with the American Cancer Society as a Marion County leadership council member and Relay for Life support staff member. He created Swim for Life as a fundraiser for FAST and Relay for Life. The program has raised nearly $40,000 in eight years for the Relay for Life fund. He also helped to begin Footwork for CJD (Cruetzfeldt-Jakob Disease) to raise money to research the disease that took his mother’s life in 2007. Snively is also an American Red Cross instructor and has gotten his team involved in community clean-up projects.
Snively is a member of the College Swim Coaches Association of America, the American Swimming Coaches Association, USA Swimming, and the CSCAA Division II Poll Committee. Snively wrapped up his term as the chair of the NCAA Division II Swimming & Diving Committee this past spring.
Snively also earned a Level 5 certification from the American Swimming Coaches Association of America (ASCA) in June 2018.
Snively and his wife Amy reside in Fairmont.
