The 2026 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Division III Hall of Fame Class will feature four individual with ties to the NESCAC.
Two former NESCAC coaches and two former student-athletes from conference comprise an impressive Hall of Fame class.
Among the coaches being inducted into the CSCAA Hall of Fame are former Amherst head coach Nick Nichols and Peter Solomon who served as head coach at Amherst (1993-97), Middlebury (1997-2011), and Wesleyan (2012-23) during his career. Former national champions Kim Eckrich Oster of Williams and Lissa McGrath Millett of Bowdoin are the former student-athletes included in the Class of 2026 representing the NESCAC.
Nichols spent 25 years at the helm of the Mammoths and was named the NCAA Division III Women's Swimming Coach of the Year by CSCAA three straight seasons from 2006-08. The organization also recognized Nichols as one of the 100 Greatest Coaches of the last 100 yeras during its centennial celebration in 2021. Nichols led the women's team to a 173-29-1 dual meet record, including three undefeated dual meet seasons and Little Three Championships, and the 2013 NESCAC Championship. His Amherst women's teams finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championship 17 times, including consecutive second-place showings in 2007 and 2008 and 12th-place finishes at each of the last two championships. Nichols led the men's team to a 163-34 dual meet record, including nine Little Three Championships and three undefeated dual meet seasons. He led his men's teams to eight top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championship, including back-to-back fifth-place finishes in 2009 and 2010.
During Solomon's 29-year NESCAC tenure, he was selected as the Conference Coach of the Year nine times (1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2017, 2019). Some of the coaching accolades that Solomon amassed over 12 seasons at Wesleyan include coaching 10 NCAA Qualifiers and bringing six women to the 2019 NCAA Championships, Wesleyan's largest Swimming & Diving team contingent to compete at NCAA's in the program's history. During his years at Middlebury, Solomon's 2002 men's team wom the school's first NESCAC Swimming & Diving Conference Championship. In 2010, one of his swimmers, John Dillion, set an NCAA Division III record in the 200 butterfly and took top honors in both the 100 and 200-yard butterfly. Dillon became one of five different athletes Solomon coached at Middlebury to win individual events at the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships. In 1994, his inaugural season at Amherst, Solomon's men's team pulled off the college's first dual meet victory over Little III rival, Williams College. His women's team compiled a sixth place finish at the 1996 Division III NCAA Championships.
In 1982 at the inaugural NCAA Division III National Championships, Kim Eckrich Oster became the first woman to win five individual events, setting five individual national records and two relay national records. A 17-time All-American, Eckrich Oster accumulated 10 individual NCAA titles and seven relay titles (still the most ever by any Williams College swimmer or diver). Eckrich Oster won 14 New England titles and set almost as many meet records. She was the Championship Meet High Point winner in 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985, where she was also awarded the prestigious Kay Frommer Award presented to the senior who accumulated the most points in her four year career. She was also featured in Sports Illustrated’s Faces in the Crowd in 1982.
Lissa McGrath Millett is the most accomplished swimmer in Bowdoin history. In 1980 she won the High Point Award her freshman season, repeated this feat in 1982 and 1983 alongside fellow inductee Kim Eckrich. In 1982-83, Millett won every race she entered, totaling 29 consecutive victories and five New England titles. She was awarded the Kay Frommer Award presented to the senior who scored the most points in her collegiate career. At the 1980 AIAW National Championships, she won the title in the 400 IM while also earning All-American recognition in the 100 and 500 freestyle races and the 100 IM. In 1982 and 1983 she captured titles in the 400 and 200 IM while setting the 200 national record in 1983. All told, she earned All-American recognition 19 times, won 11 New England titles, three national championships, and held 20 Bowdoin records upon graduation. In recognition of her achievements, Millett was inducted into the Bowdoin Athletic Hall of Honor in 2003.
The 2026 CSCAA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on May 4, 2026, at Joe’s Live in Rosemont, Illinois, during the CSCAA Annual Awards Celebration, hosted at the Loews Chicago.
2026 Inductees
