Glenn Putyrae will serve as the new head coach of the Alabama Rowing team, Director of Athletics Greg Byrne announced on Friday. 

Putyrae comes to Tuscaloosa with 19 years of coaching experience, spending 15 of them over two stints at Gonzaga University (1999-2007 and 2011-2018) and the other four at Georgetown University (2007-2011).

“Four areas really stood out for us as we progressed through the interview process with Glenn, and those were his passion, his work ethic and his vision and belief for the future of this program,” Byrne said in a press release. “He’s had great success leading both Gonzaga and Georgetown, and we are confident he will do the same for the Crimson Tide.”

A nine-time West Coast Conference Coach of the Year, Putyrae will look to use his past experience to improve on the foundation laid by former Crimson Tide coach Larry Davis, who spent 12 seasons as the program’s first coach before retiring in May 2018.

“When you think of The University of Alabama, you think of all the tradition and success it has had as an institution, and I am grateful for this opportunity to be part of that as the next head rowing coach of the Crimson Tide,” Putyrae said in a press release. “My goal is to build on the foundation that Coach Davis laid here and ultimately compete for championships, which I know we can do with all of the phenomenal resources available to us. 

Over the course of his two stints at Gonzaga, Putyrae led the Bulldogs to 12 WCC championships. During his four years at Georgetown, Putyrae helped the Hoyas land a second place finish, a third place finish and two fourth place finishes at the Big East Championships.