Ben Delia - Associate Head Swimming & Diving Coach - Women's Swimming and Diving Coaches

Ben Delia

Title:
Associate Head Swimming & Diving Coach
Email:
benjamin.delia@westpoint.edu

Ben Delia joined the coaching staff at Army West Point in September 2023 as Associate Head Coach of men's swimming & diving.

In Delia's first season with the Black Knights, the program saw one of its most successful campaigns in history, setting new program records in 26 out of a possible 44 events throughout the season. This included having sophomore Kohen Rankin qualify for the NCAA Championships in the 100 and 200 breast, becoming the first Army swimmer to qualify for the meet since 1987.

Army also had a program record 13 athletes named to the All-Patriot League First Team with 20 total garnering all-league accolades. Both Army teams placed second at the Patriot League Championships, setting 14 new program new records at the meet while claiming 15 first-place finishes. Sophomore Molly Webber was named Women’s Swimmer of the Meet and Highest Point Scorer after claiming three individual golds and two relay golds. Junior Wes Tate was also named the Highest Point Scorer on the men’s side, with both tabbing 96 points.

Delia came to West Point following a year-long stint as an assistant coach at Villanova University. Eventually part of the Big East Co-Coaching Staff of the Year, Delia helped lead the Villanova women to a Big East Championship crown while the men tabbed fourth-place in the conference.

Prior to his stint at Villanova, Delia served as the head coach at Franklin & Marshall for 11 seasons. At the helm of the Diplomats, Delia led the team to unprecedented success, culminating in the men's team recording a program-best 17th-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships. The men's team was consistently ranked within the top-10 nationally throughout the 2022 regular season.
Across his tenure, the program saw two Olympic Trials qualifiers, 50 All-Americans, 121 All-Centennial Conference honorees and 59 gold medals at the conference championships. He totaled 120 dual victories across the 11 seasons, winning 60 on each side. He guided the men's program to a Centennial Conference Championship in 2020, going on to receive the league's Coach of the Year honors. The conference title was the first for the program in over ten seasons, as it also registered its first undefeated regular season since 1964-65.
On the women's side at Franklin & Marshall, Delia oversaw a Diplomat's program that held 13 school records throughout his tenure. The team earned a pair of Centennial Conference runner-up finishes during his career. He aided three-time Paralympic Gold Medalist Becca Meyers '16 to All-America honors during the 2016 season. Before Franklin & Marshall, Delia was the head women's swimming coach at Randolph-Macon College for four seasons. During his time in Ashland, the team finished second at the ODAC Championships every season while the program saw 30 All-ODAC selections. The team won 13 conference event championships and set two conference records across his tenure. He was tabbed the conference's Coach of the Year in 2011 after the Yellow Jackets won nine of the 18 championship events, eventually sweeping the conference postseason awards. A native of of Oswego, N.Y., Delia began his coaching career as an assistant at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. after finishing his student-athlete career at Hamilton, graduating in 2005. He was a member of the All-NESCAC team and was a championship finalist multiple times. Delia graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a concentration in Economics at Hamilton before earning his Master's Degree in Economics from Trinity College in 2007.