Michael Hay enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Albright men's and women's swimming teams in 2018-19
Hay once again helped the Albright men's team win another MAC title, the team's 12th overall and eighth in the past nine years. He also was named MAC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year for the second time at Albright, and saw the men's team complete an undefeated dual meet regular season record for the first time since the 2013-14 season. The Albright women's team finished eighth at MAC Championships.
In 2017-18, Hay led the Albright men's team win its second-straight MAC title, and 11th overall in program history. He also helped coach 2018 MAC men's swimming rookie of the year Bryce Schaffer. The Albright women's team posted a fourth-place finish at MAC Championships which was a one spot improvement from the previous season.
In 2016-17, Hay led the Albright men's team to a MAC title, the team's 10th overall and sixth in the past seven seasons. Hay was named MAC Men's Swimming Coach of the Year. Senior Ken Richardson was named the MAC Men's Swimming Senior Scholar-Athlete. The Albright women's team posted a fifth-place finish at the MAC Championship.
Hay proved his mettle in his first season as the Lions head coach as he guided the program through a tumultuous year. The program began the year with the tragic death of Matthew Rein and also battled through the process of adapting to a new coaching philosophy. In the end, Hay led the men's team to a Middle Atlantic Conference title, while the women's team finished third at the conference meet.
His second season at Albright was also an unqualified success as the men's program finished second at the Middle Atlantic Conference championships. One of the many highlights of the season came when freshman Tyler Chamberlin posted an NCAA B cut time in the 100 breaststroke.
Hay brought over four years of experience at the collegiate, high school and club levels to Albright.
Hay was an assistant coach at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., where he was involved in all facets of a highly competitive Division III program. During his two-year stint at Carthage the Red Men and Lady Reds had an NCAA All-American, had five NCAA qualifiers and won a combined 11 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin individual titles.
Prior to Carthage, Hay was an assistant coach at Villa Maria Academy in Malvern, Pa., and also an assistant coach for the Upper Main Line YMCA swim program. Villa Maria Academy won Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) state titles in both 2011 and 2012 and the Upper Main Line men’s team placed fourth at the YMCA Spring Nationals in 2012 while the women finished eighth.
Hay attended Lehigh from 2004-08 and earned four letters in swimming. He was a member of the Mountain Hawks 200 free relay, which earned top five finishes at the Patriot League Championships in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Additionally, he was a member of the 400 medley relay team that placed fifth in 2008, the 400 freestyle relay team that was fourth in both 2007 and 2008, and the 200 medley team that placed third in 2007 and fifth in 2008. Individually, Hay was a consolation finalist in the 50 freestyle in 2005, 2006 and 2007, in the 100 freestyle in 2007 and the 100 breaststroke in 2007 and 2008.
Hay earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Lehigh in accounting with a minor in engineering in the spring of 2008 and his Master of Education degree in educational leadership from Carthage in 2014.
