University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
ACHA M2 • ACCHL Premier
Date: October 8, 2023
Would Recommend
Tags
My time as a swimmer for UNC-Chapel Hill was a constant struggle in terms of trying to connect with the staff that I had to work with. Being on A relay and leading by example in the pool and weight room brought me to believe that I would be looked at as a great role model for others in the program, I could not have been more wrong. Mark is the type of person where if you don't say and do exactly what he wants, then you are no use to him. He had a meeting with the non-NCAA swimmers stating how his job is to get top three at ACCs and the top ten at NCAAs. This meeting was held at 6 a.m. during the third week of mandatory morning practice after the conference in which he made it clear how little value this group fo athletes had when compared to his NCAA group. He flaunts a women team that is led by a single diver and is helped by fifth years and transfers. On the men's side it is hardly staying afloat thanks to international students (and the good ones, not ones that are taking up nearly full scholarships and can not make a conference team). He constantly emphasizes how the team needs to be more of a family while his actions go in the completely opposite direction as he makes athletes turn on each other and has his favorites that will lie straight to the face of their teammates to stay on good terms with Mark. He is an extremely unfair coach in the sense that if you are sick and injured you are no use to him. I have seen athletes who are on the verge of medical retirement be screamed at for extended periods of time for not being healthy enough and love to use the transfer portal as a way to get rid of athletes that are not improving. Mark is getting bullied in the ACC by every other head coach and going into the 2024 season will only get worse as Cal and Stanford are going to be joining. He should be removed as head coach of the program if the AD wants to see swimming and diving return to the Frank Comfort glory days otherwise it will be a long time before any improvement is shown by the Tar Heels in the water.