A-10 Champions 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013
A-10 Coach of the Year in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013

Matt Barany has helped to establish a tradition of excellence as the head swim coach at the University of Richmond.

Barany focuses on the “athletics is education” concept. The swimming & diving Spiders work hard to balance success in the water with the rigors of college academics at Richmond. The program has come to set the standard for academic excellence on campus with 85 % of the team earning a GPA of 3.0 better during the Fall of 2012. The program achieved the highest GPA (3.38) of any women’s teams at Richmond in the Spring of 2012.  Junior Mali Kobelja was the first Spider (and first swimmer in A-10 history) to be named A-10 Scholar of the Year in 2012.

The Spiders were named a Scholar All-America Team by the College Swimming Coaches Association (CSCAA) for the fourth consecutive season in 2011-12. In 2012, Lauren Hines and Kobelja received the Scholar All-America tab. Individually, four other Spiders have earned Academic All-America distinction - Caitlin Geary (2007), Sieben (2008 & 2010), Beaudreau (2009), Nicole LePere (2010 & 2011). At the conclusion of the 2012-2013 season, Mina Vucic was named to the conference all-academic team for the third year in a row alongside teammate Kobelja.

The Spiders have also attained success in the water. The 2012-13 squad captured the program's seventh title in eight years under Barany. At the 2013 A-10 Championship, Spider swimmers secured seven individual golds and added another five in the relays. The Spiders have now clocked 39 conference standards in 13 events over the past seven seasons. The team set individual school records, running Barany's total to 65 school marks in 16 events since he has taken the helm of the program. Individual accolades also rolled in for Richmond in 2013, with Kobelja being selected as the championship's Most Outstanding Performer for the second consecutive year and freshmen Kelley Yang being honored as the Most Outstanding Rookie Performer.

The Spiders continued to make their presence known on the national stage when Lauren Hines raced to Honorable Mention All-America honors in the 100 back at the 2012 NCAA Championship. With Hines' qualification for NCAAs, Barany has coached four NCAA qualifiers (Jessica Witt, Lauren Beaudreau, Katie Sieben, and Hines) and a pair of All-Americans (Witt 2006 & 2007 and Hines 2012) during his tenure at Richmond.

Hines and Kobelja participated in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, while '12 alumna Charlotte Brackett qualified for the 2012 British Olympic Trials in London. This now brings the total to five Olympic Trials qualifiers (Sieben and Beaudreau in 2008) that Barany has coached since his arrival at Richmond.

A native of Midlothian, Va., Barany swam for James Madison University. The Dukes' captain as a senior, he swam freestyle on teams that captured four-straight CAA Championships (1992-95) and three ECAC titles (1993-1995). Barany was a two-time recipient of the Steve Miller Award - an annual team honor that recognizes athletes who best exemplify enthusiasm, energy, dedication and love for the sport.

Barany graduated from JMU in 1995 with a B.A. in English. He earned a secondary education certificate in 1996. As a Peace Corps Volunteer, Barany taught English in the Laikipia region of Kenya from 1996-1998.

In 1999, Barany helped launch the women's swimming program at Randolph-Macon College. During his final season (2001) in Ashland, VA, he earned Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Atlantic States Conference and Randolph Macon Coach of the Year honors.

Barany returned to Harrisonburg in July 2001 as the head men's swimming coach - a position he held for the next three seasons. Barany assumed the role of director of swimming & diving for the Dukes, coaching both the men and women's programs in 2004.

A graduate of Clover Hill High School in Midlothian, Va., Barany is currently pursuing his MBA at UR and is set to graduate in December of 2013. He resides in downtown Richmond.