A decorated swimmer and talented coach, former University of Pittsburgh assistant Tanica Jamison was hired at Texas A&M on July 7, 2011 by Aggie head coach Steve Bultman.

Jamison worked closely with the sprinter and middle distance groups for the Pitt's men's and women's swimming and diving teams the past two seasons, and also served as the head senior coach of Team Pittsburgh. In 2010-11, Panther swimmers earned five All-Big East awards and broke four school records.

"It's an honor and a privilege to work with a great swimming and diving program like Texas A&M," Jamison said. "They are driven competitors and they have a championship mindset. I'm very excited about getting the opportunity to coach with and learn from Steve Bultman, and hopefully I can help the Aggies continue to build their program."

In addition to her strong coaching resumé, Jamison remains a competitive swimmer. In 2010, Jamison shattered six national age group records at the U.S. Masters Short Course Nationals in Atlanta, Ga. Jamison is a two-time U.S. National Champion, a World University Games gold medalist and a two-time U.S. Olympic Trials finalist.

An 11-time All-American and two-time NCAA Champion at the University of Texas under then-head coach Jill Sterkel, Jamison was the 2000 Big 12 Freshman and Newcomer of the Year, earned the Leadership Award in 2001 and 2002, was a two-time team captain and was selected as the team's Most Valuable Swimmer in 2003. Jamison already has a number of connections to the current Aggie roster after serving as a coach with the Longhorn Aquatics swim team.

"She has competed at a very high level for many years and that experience will be a big plus for us," Bultman said. "She has swum under some very good coaches, and she's always been a student of the sport. I think she knew she wanted to be a coach and she was definitely observing coaching techniques and styles."

Jamison joins a Texas A&M program that has won three Big 12 team titles in the last five years and has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships the last five seasons.

"I think Tanica can have a big impact on our team," Bultman said. "She can combine her experience as a swimmer at those high levels with what she's done in coaching so far. In talking to some of her former coaches, they said very good things about her -- her work ethic, her leadership. They talked about her ability back when she was a swimmer to be intuitive about what she needed and helping her teammates. She's definitely has a passion for the sport and for helping swimmers reach excellence. She has already worked with three girls on our team when she was at Longhorn Aquatics, and they are very excited about Tanica joining our program."

Jamison has a long-time association with the National Diversity Select Camp, which began when she was a three-time participant in the mid-1990s and continued when she was invited to serve as a National Team athletic representative in 2007 and head coach 2011. The Colorado Springs, Colo.-based camp's purpose is to instill a vision of success and inspire athletes from ethnically under-represented populations to become leaders in the sport of swimming.

Jamison was also honored to lead the first Eastern Zone Diversity Swim camp in Philadelphia, Pa. in June of 2011. Jamison was named a minority pioneer in the sport of swimming and diving when she was honored at the Black Heritage Swim Meet in Cary, N.C. in May 2011.

Born in Monongahela, Pa, Jamison graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor's degree in applied learning and development in 2003.