Long Beach City College Dedicates Monte Nitzkowski Aquatic Center
Long Beach City College on Wednesday dedicated the Monte Nitzkowski Aquatic Center in honor of the hall of fame coach.
A member of the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame and International Swimming Hall of Fame, Nitzkowski three times served as U.S. Olympic coach in a career that spanned more than three decades.
“As a proud LBCC alumnus and former student-athlete, I recognize the enduring influence of leaders like Monte Nitzkowski,” LBCC Board of Trustees President Uduak-Joe Ntuksaid in a press release. “His extraordinary achievements and lifelong dedication to excellence left a mark on Viking athletics that continues to inspire. The naming of the Aquatics Center in his honor ensures his legacy will remain a guiding example of discipline, integrity, and opportunity for future generations.”
Nitzkowski, who died in 2016 at the age of 86, swam at Fullerton Junior College and then at UCLA, where he played water polo. A two-time conference champion and swimming All-American, he qualified for the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki in the 200 breaststroke. (He swam it as a butterflier, before those two strokes diverged into discreet disciplines.) He trained for the Games while serving in the Navy and received his master’s degree in history from CSU Long Beach in 1955.
That’s where he began coaching, leading LBCC to 32 conference water polo titles and 12 conference swimming titles over 34. That included an eight-year unbeaten stretch for the water polo teams.
He coached the U.S. men’s water polo team at the Olympics in 1972 and 1984, winning bronze and silver medals, respectively, as well as for the 1980 Olympics at which the U.S. did not participate. The medal in 1972 was the first for the U.S. men since 1932. He had been an assistant for the 1968 team. He also coached the U.S. men at the Pan American Games in 1979 and 1983. He served as a national team coach from 1977-84 and was am ember of USA Water Polo’s Board of Directors long after his retirement from coaching in 1986.
Nitzkowski was an advocate for women’s sports, particularly after the passage of Title IX in 1972. He and his wife Barbara Nitzkowski traveled the country via Volkswagen bus to help launch women’s water polo programs, often on their own dime.
He was inducted to the USA Water Polo Hall of Fame in 1993 and the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1991.
“Coach Nitzkowski was more than a champion in the pool—he was a mentor who shaped generations of student-athletes and elevated the reputation of Long Beach City College on a national and international stage,” said Dr. Mike Munoz, LBCC Superintendent-President. “By dedicating our Aquatics Center in his name, we are celebrating his enduring impact on our college community and ensuring that his legacy of excellence continues to inspire future student athletes.”
