Rowing
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 205-348-3600
Putyrae comes to Tuscaloosa with 19 years of head coaching experience having spent 15 of those over two stints at Gonzaga (1999-2007, 2011-18) and the other four at Georgetown (2007-11). He is a nine-time recipient of the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year award.
Putyrae took Gonzaga to new heights, winning five WCC championships over a seven-year span (2013, 2015-18). The team's 2013 league title earned the Zags their first bid in program history into the NCAA championships, where the Bulldogs finished 19th. Gonzaga placed in the top 20 in each of its national meet appearances since then as well, finishing 17th in 2015, 16th in 2016, 19th in 2017 and 18th in 2018. All of this was accomplished with just five scholarships, which is 15 less than the maximum number of scholarships allowed in rowing by the NCAA.
Overall in his 15 seasons at the helm in Spokane, Putyrae coached four Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association All-Americans and 13 CRCA All-Region/All-Conference selections. Twenty-eight of his student-athletes have been named All-Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association selections, while at a conference level, Putyrae has had four WCC Rowers of the Year, four WCC Newcomers of the Year, seven WCC Coxswains of the Year and 44 All-conference honorees.
Academically, his teams have fared just as well with three student-athletes earning CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, 51 being named CRCA Scholar-Athletes and 80 earning a spot on the WCC All-Academic Team.
In addition to his nine WCC Coach of the Year trophies, Putyrae is a four-time WIRA Coach of the Year, and he and his staff earned CRCA Region 5 Staff of the Year in 2016.
During his four years at Georgetown, Putyrae led the Hoyas to a second place finish (2010), third place finish (2011) and two fourth places finishes (2008, 2009) at the BIG EAST championships. His lightweight squad experienced success as well as the lightweight Varsity 8+ crew secured a spot in the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships all four years. The Hoyas finished second at the 2008 IRAs, fifth at the 2009 IRAs and sixth at both the 2010 and 2011 national championships.
Under his watch, Georgetown produced four Pocock Lightweight All-Americans, 10 All-BIG EAST Team selections and 16 CRCA Scholar-Athletes. In both 2008 and 2009, the Hoyas earned the BIG EAST Academic Team Excellence Award, and in 2009, Putyrae and his coaching staff were named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Putyrae's first stint as head coach at Gonzaga began in 1999, when he was named interim head coach after having served as the freshman men's crew coach since 1997. The interim title was removed the following year, and he remained in the position until 2007 when leaving for Georgetown. In those eight seasons, Putyrae led Gonzaga to seven WCC championships and three ECAC Rowing International appearances, winning the national title in 2013.
Putyrae took over his first program in 1994, serving as the freshman men's coach at Washington State. Prior to that, he was a graduate assistant coach for the men's team at the University of Washington.
Putyrae is a 1994 graduate of the University of Washington and rowed for the Huskies from 1989-93. He later went on to earn a master's degree in education from Washington State University in 1997. Putyrae and his wife, Mollie, have one son, Patrick, and a daughter, June.
