Sport(s) Ice hockey 1986–1988 Army (Assistant) Overall 63–100–13 (.395) Position Goaltender | 1979–1983 Boston College 1988–1994 Kent State Alma mater Boston College | |
Born September 12, 1960 (age 56)
Bay Village, OH, USA ( 1960-09-12 ) 1983–1984 Rensselaer (Goaltending) | ||
Bill Switaj is an American ice hockey former player and head coach and current director of the Kent State University Ice Arena.
Career
Switaj began attending Boston College in the fall of 1979 and eventually worked his way onto the team as a walk-on. After graduating in 1983 he made his way into the coaching ranks, finding a position at Rensselaer as a goalie coach before landing in West Point as an assistant under Rob Riley. Two years later he accepted the head coaching position at Kent State but his first season was quickly torpedoed when the university's president cancelled the season due to a hazing incident.
After the lost season was finished Switaj began putting the program back on the right footing. The Golden Flashes remained an independent program for three more years, posting double-digit wins every season, before they were accepted into the CCHA for the 1992–93 season. Though their first two years in the conference resulted in less than stellar records there was hope for the team but that hope was extinguished when the board of trustees voted to cancel the ice hockey program in 1994. Though Switaj received further coaching offers he elected to remain in Kent as the rink manager, a position he still holds as of 2016.