Jovan Vavic

Jovan Vavic (born 1961/1962) is the former head coach of both the University of Southern California men's and women's water polo teams. In 2012, he was interim head coach of the United States men's national water polo team. While coaching USC he won the National Coach of the Year award 15 times, and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year award 13 times. He was fired by USC in March 2019 in the wake of his indictment in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.[2]

Jovan Vavic
Born1961/1962 (age 58–59)[1]
Yugoslavia
Alma materUCLA ('92)
OccupationHead water polo coach, men’s and women’s teams
EmployerUniversity of Southern California
Known for
Home townHerceg Novi, Montenegro
Criminal charge(s)conspiracy to commit racketeering
Children4

Early and personal life

Vavic was born in Yugoslavia.[3] He grew up in Herceg Novi, SR Montenegro, and emigrated to the United States in 1984.[2][4] Vavic graduated from UCLA (bachelor's degree in history, 1992).[3] He and his wife, whom he married in 1990, have four children.[3][5] He is a resident of Rancho Palos Verdes, California.[6][5]

Water polo coaching career

From 1987 to 1990, Vavic coached water polo at Palos Verdes High School.[6]

Vavic was the head coach of the U.S. water polo team at the 1995 World University Games in 2003.[3] In 2012, he was interim head coach of the United States men's national water polo team.[3]

He became a coach at University of Southern California (USC) in 1992, and was the head coach of the USC Trojans men's and women's water polo teams.[6][3] Vavic led both teams to national championships three times in the same school year.[3] He won the National Coach of the Year award 15 times, and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year award 13 times.[3] In 2015 he was named Pac-12 Coach of the Century.[7] His teams won 16 national titles, including 1998, 2003, 2005, and 2008 with the USC men's water polo teams.[3] Vavic coached 14 Peter J. Cutino Award winners.[3] Among the Olympians he coached were J. W. Krumpholz, Flora Bolonyai, Anni Espar, McQuin Baron, and Thomas Dunstan.[8][9][10]

Indictment in bribery scandal
Main article: 2019 college admissions bribery scandal

Vavic was arrested and indicted in March 2019 in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.[11][12] He was accused of signing two "recruits" who had never actually played competitive water polo, to help the students gain admission to USC, in exchange for $250,000 in bribes from the students' parents.[13][14][11] He was charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering.[15][14] The charge carries penalties of a prison term of up to 20 years, and up to $250,000 in fines.[16][1]

Vavic was fired by USC in the immediate wake of his indictment.[2]

gollark: You equip a laser.
gollark: Just wildly fire sideways.
gollark: Lasers actually are really good for that.
gollark: But we don't really need that since people do not need to live there, and all you actually *need* just to teach people is a room with some computers/monitors/networking and maybe an outdoor turtle testground.
gollark: The traditional thing would be a big campus area with nice green spaces and paths and stuff, with buildings for... student housing and lectures and whatnot.

References
  1. "First wave of 'Varsity Blues' defendants hits federal court Monday; Head coaches, administrators among first dozen arraigned". Boston Herald. 24 March 2019.
  2. Burke, Caroline (12 March 2019). "Jovan Vavic, USC Water Polo Coach: 5 Fast Facts". Heavy.com.
  3. "Jovan Vavic - Women's Water Polo Coach". USC Athletics.
  4. Yee, Candy. "May thru July 2010 Candygrams". trojancandy.com.
  5. Piellucci, Mike (22 December 2015). "USC's Jovan Vavic is One of the Winningest—and Most Colorful—Coaches in Collegiate History". Los Angeles Magazine.
  6. Rosenfeld, David. "USC water polo coach indicted in bribery scam closely tied to Palos Verdes". Palos Verdes Peninsula News.
  7. Estes, Regan (14 October 2015). "Vavic named Pac-12 Coach of the Century". Daily Trojan.
  8. "USC Contends With Newest Scandal: A Water Polo Coach Allegedly on the Take". The Hollywood Reporter.
  9. "USC Women's Water Polo Signs Stellar Class for 2014". USC Athletics.
  10. "No. 2 USC Visits The Farm For MPSF Action At No. 5 Stanford on Saturday". USC Athletics.
  11. "How USC's water polo dynasty aided admissions bribery". Sports Illustrated.
  12. "Investigations of College Admissions and Testing Bribery Scheme". United States Department of Justice. 11 March 2019.
  13. Regardie, Jon. "The Stumbling, Tumbling Trojan Nation". Los Angeles Downtown News.
  14. "Scandal Engulfs USC: Jovan Vavic, Head Men’s & Women’s Polo Coach Arrested Over Fake Admissions Scheme," Swimming World Magazine.
  15. "USC coach arrested in Waikiki in college bribery sweep". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 12 March 2019.
  16. "The Rise and Scandalous Fall Of USC Water Polo Coach Jovan Vavic," Swimming World Magazine.
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