Legendary Bentley Coach Mary Kay Samko Announces Retirement
Legendary Bentley University head coach Mary Kay Samko announced her retirement Tuesday, effective at the end of the academic year.
Samko is in her 29th year coaching the Falcons and her 43rd as a head coach in college. She has won exactly 600 dual meets in her career, including a 506-148 record at Bentley.
“Many years ago, Bentley Athletic Director Bob DeFelice reached out to ask me to become the Bentley swim coach,” Samko said in a university press release. “Since then, Bentley has been my home. Thank you to all of the swimmers and divers who have taught me so much along the way. It has been a pleasure to watch you grow and mature and stay a part of the team that you helped to create. I appreciate the support of the Bentley community and my coaching peers. And of course for the support and love of my family who understand the life of coaches.”
Samko also coached at Tufts University, the University of South and Southern Connecticut State University before arriving in at Bentley in 1996. The program was in its third season then, and she has shepherded both the men’s and women’s teams since then, also serving as the school’s aquatics director. She’s led the women’s team to a 364-120 record and the men to a 236-88 mark for the Northeast 10 and Division II program.
Samko has led the Falcons to four Northeast 10 men’s titles and 19 runner-up results combined between the genders. She’s led eight women’s teams and seven men’s to New England Intercollegiate Swimming and Diving Association championships. She has been named the Northeast 10 Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year four times and the NEISDA Coach of the Year on seven occasions.
“Mary Kay’s name is synonymous with Bentley’s swim and dive program,” said Anne Kaduboski, a Bentley Athletic Hall of Famer for her exploits as a swimmer under Samko and now an assistant coach. “Her records speak for themselves, but the success of the program is a testament to her leadership and dedication. What truly sets her apart is her unwavering commitment to mentoring athletes, both in the pool and in life, leaving a lasting impact on their lives and the program’s legacy. I genuinely believe I wouldn’t have reached my full potential without her coaching. Mary Kay’s influence at Bentley is profound, and her legacy will continue to inspire for years to come.”
“Mary Kay Samko and Bentley swimming and diving have become synonymous over the years. It’s hard to think of one without the other,” said Rick Danehy, Bentley’s diving coach through Samko’s tenure. “It will be her presence on the pool deck that I will miss the most. Mary Kay has a way of instilling confidence in both athletes and coaches alike. She is the most genuine and caring coach I have worked with. She is the coach that other coaches go to for answers and she always has the one.”
Samko is a 1976 graduate of Boston College, the first woman to be inducted to the BC Athletic Hall of Fame. She won a 16th NEISDA Coach of the Year award in 1987 with Southern Connecticut.
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