BELLINGHAM, Wash. – After 26 seasons and nine NCAA national championships, longtime Western Washington University Women's Rowing Coach John Fuchs has announced his retirement.
 
Fuchs has been the Vikings head coach since 1999 when WWU joined the NCAA ranks and over his tenure has guided the program into national prominence. A Fircrest native and 1988 Western graduate, Fuchs has been associated with WWU Rowing since arriving on campus as a student-athlete in 1984.
 
"It's been an incredible ride over the years, that's for sure! I am extremely grateful and honored to have been coaching here at Western, my alma mater. This is the place I always wanted to be. I've met and have been supported by so many wonderful people within Athletics and the WWU community," said Fuchs. "We had an abundance of success, more than I could have dreamed due to our exceptional assistant coaches and student athletes. I will cherish the mornings on the lake, but more so the interaction with them. They brought joy, laughter and purpose into my life."
 
Fuchs coached nine national championship teams during his 26 years at the helm of the program, including winning the title this year in his final season as head coach. WWU won an unprecedented seven consecutive team national championships at the NCAA Division II Rowing Championships from 2005-2011, adding national titles again in 2017 and in 2024. Western's crew made an appearance at the NCAA Division II regatta in 20 of 22 possible seasons, earning a spot on the podium (top 3 finish) 19 times.
 
"John was not only a national championship winning head coach, but a master at putting together an elite-level roster by finding athletic talent through a great walk-on program. He put the student-athlete first in every process of his coaching and that shows in the great number of leaders the program has turned out," said WWU Director of Athletics Jim Sterk. "Beyond the countless awards and trophies, John is a Viking through-and-through. He is a former student-athlete rower, a graduate of WWU and has been associated with Western Rowing for nearly 40 years. We are going to miss his guidance, but the imprint John has left on this program and WWU Athletics will be forever part of our department."
 
The Vikings nine rowing national championships are tied for the most by an NCAA member school, equaling the nine by Williams College at the Division III level. In addition to the nine national championships, the Vikings were runner-up at nationals five times (2002, 2003, 2012, 2018 and 2022); and have been on the podium in all but one trip to nationals (2023 – 4th) with five additional 3rd-place finishes (2004, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2019).
 
Fuchs' countless listing of awards also include guiding the Vikings to a pair of Great Northwest Athletic Conference championships in the four-year history of the event and 11 times leading the Vikings to the No. 1 national ranking. He has coached 38 CRCA All-Americans and earned four CRCA Coach of the Year awards. His crews also won several WIRA (Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association) trophies while competing against the best collegiate programs on the West Coast.
 
While building the program into elite status, Fuchs relied heavily on turning walk-on student-athletes into national champions. He was also instrumental in turning Lake Samish into a world-class training facility, spending countless hours  into maintaining and upgrading the shell house at Camp Lutherwood. He was also a strong fundraiser for the program helping add several state-of-the-art rowing shells to the program.
 
Fuchs was a member of the WWU men's rowing program as a student-athlete from 1985-88 and spent numerous years as an assistant coach and head coach for the Western men's program prior to taking over the women's program in 1998-99.
 
Fuchs will continue to work through the summer preparing the program for the fall and its new head coach. An announcement on Fuchs' replacement will be made in the coming weeks.
  Led by head coach John Fuchs (26th season) and assistant coach Courtney Moeller (9th season), WWU Rowing is one of the elite collegiate rowing programs in the country, having won nine NCAA Division II National Championships. The Vikings won the 2024 NCAA II National Title, the 2017 title, placed 2nd in 2018, 3rd in 2019 and runner-up in 2022. WWU has competed in the NCAA Championships in 20 of the 22 NCAA Division II national regattas, taking home the gold (9 times), silver (5 times) and bronze (5) medal 19 times in the 22 years the NCAA Division II team title has been awarded. Western won seven consecutive DII national championships from 2005-2011.
 
WWU Rowing Inside the Numbers:
20 – NCAA II Rowing Championship Appearances (out of 22)
16 – Individual Championships (Eight-7, Fours-9)
9 – National Championships (2005-11, 2017, 2024)
5 – National Runner-Up Finishes
5 – 3rd Place Finishes at Nationals
2 – GNAC Championships (in 4-year history of event)