Curtis Jordan, the all-time winningest coach in the 130 years of Princeton heavyweight crew, will retire after 19 years as head coach, it was announced by Director of Athletics Gary Walters ’67. Jordan has been associated with Tiger rowing for nearly three decades and is also No. 2 in career wins among any coach in the history of Princeton open women’s crew.
"Curtis Jordan's name is synonymous with Princeton rowing and sustained excellence within the competitive world of heavyweight rowing," Walters says. "But the most important contribution that he has made to Princeton is as a role model and mentor to hundreds of young men and women at the boathouse. The 'Curtis Jordan legacy' will be passed forward from generation to generation of rowers at Shea."
Jordan, a 1974 graduate of Trinity College, began his head coaching career in 1984 with the Princeton open women. He led the team to 55 wins, then a program record, and won nearly 80% of his races while leading Princeton to the 1985 and 1990 EAWRC and Ivy League championships. In 1990, his final season with the women, he led Princeton to its first national championship with a two-second victory over Radcliffe.
Jordan moved to the heavyweights in 1991 and embarked on the most successful career in the great tradition of Princeton rowing. He won 131 of 174 races (.753) and led the Tigers to five EARC/Ivy League championships and two national titles. A multiple-time EAWRC and EARC Coach of the Year, Jordan’s most recent Eastern championship came in 2006.
"As in all these types of decisions many factors played into the process," Jordan says. "Bottom line; this is a good time for me to step down and it is a good time for Princeton to get new blood into the system. I am both excited about the prospects and emotional about the departure. Princeton and Princeton Crew have been my life for 30 years. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to coach at Princeton. I have worked with some incredible athletes over the years but more importantly I have worked with great people, many of who are now very close friends.
"The PURA (Princeton University Rowing Association) and the Princeton athletics department have both been wonderful organizations to work with and I want to thank them for everything."
Jordan started his heavyweight coaching career with a 13-14 record over three seasons, but the program quickly took off after that. In 1994, Princeton went 8-2 and placed second in the IRA national final; one season later, Princeton went 8-1 and won its first EARC championship by nearly four seconds over Northeastern.
That began arguably the greatest era in program history, as the Tigers won either the EARC or national championship in each of the next five years. Princeton’s first national title came in 1996, when it topped Washington by 1.3 seconds. Princeton won EARC titles in 1997 and 1999 and the national title in 1998. From 1995 through 1999, Princeton also won the Rowe Cup at EARC for the overall team title.
"Curtis' retirement certainly comes as a surprise to me and the other members of the coaching staff," says assistant coach Marty Crotty ’98, who rowed for Jordan’s 1996 and 1998 national championship crews. "Having had the privilege of rowing for and coaching with Curtis, I have received several lifetimes and careers worth of mentorship and friendship from him. Our friendship will carry on, but I will miss the day-to-day coaching advice that Curtis so generously gave me. I am extremely thankful to Curtis for giving me the opportunity to be an intercollegiate rowing coach and hope he will never stray too far from Lake Carnegie."
Jordan took the 2000 season off to focus on his work with the U.S. Olympic program. It was his fourth stint as an Olympic coach, which included a bronze medal victory for the U.S. lightweight fours at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Jordan also coached a number of Princeton rowers who went on to international success, including 2004 Olympic gold medalist Chris Ahrens ’98 and 2008 bronze medalist Steve Coppola ’06; both rowed for the U.S. men’s 8+.
Upon his return to Princeton in 2001, Jordan led Princeton to an 8-1 record, a fourth EARC title in seven years and a silver medal at the IRA championships. Princeton had several strong crews over the next few seasons, but his final great one was the 2006 team. That season actually began in the fall of 2005, when Princeton became the first collegiate crew to win the men’s championship eights since 1983.
Ranked number one throughout the 2006 season, Princeton went 9-0 and unseated Harvard as EARC champion. Though the Tigers fell to California in a tight national grand final, Princeton picked up one more title when it went to Henley that summer and won the Ladies Challenge Plate.
"Curtis Jordan has influenced every person who has set foot in this boathouse," says women’s open coach Lori Dauphiny. "We have all benefited from his knowledge, wisdom and friendship. He is not only an outstanding coach but one of the greatest individuals I have ever known. He will be greatly missed at the Princeton Boathouse and the University."