Calvin University

Coach Dan Gelderloos began as men's and women's swimming and diving coach at Calvin in 1996. He will head into his 29th season as head men's and women's swim coach at Calvin this fall.

Combined, he has led the Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving programs to 25 MIAA Titles - 17 on the women's side and eight on the men's side. He has led the Calvin men's team to three top-10 national team finishes. He has led the women's program to five top-10 national team finishes. 

In the classroom, his teams have produced 15 Academic All-Americans. They have also earned the MIAA Team GPA Award a combined 21 times for producing a cumulative team grade point average of 3.30 or above. 

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Gelderloos was a four-year varsity member of the Calvin men's swim team between 1990-1994. As a senior in 1994, he captained the Knights to a fourth-place MIAA finish.

In 2025, Gelderloos led the Calvin men's program to its third straight MIAA championship and an 11th-place finish at the NCAA Championships on the way to being named MIAA Men's Swimming Coach of the Year honors for the second straight year. The women's side took second in the MIAA championships and finished 12th at the NCAA III Championships. 

His 2024 Calvin men's swimming and diving team had a landmark year, posting the highest-ever team finish at the NCAA III Championships with a seventh place team score of 188 points. Along the way, Calvin captured its third MIAA title in four years. His women's team took second at the MIAA Championships but then placed 14th at the NCAA III Championships with the Knights finishing as the highest MIAA team at the women's national meet. 

In 2023, he led the Calvin men's swimming and diving team to a 9th place team finish at the NCAA III Championships while his women's team finished 18th at the national meet. 

In 2001, Gelderloos guided the Calvin women's swim team to its first-ever MIAA title and led the Knights to a repeat performance in 2002. Calvin then captured MIAA women's titles in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. In addition, Gelderloos has guided the Calvin women's swimming and diving program to five top-10 national finishes.

In 2014, the men's swimming & diving program picked up its first MIAA title in program history. The Knights also won MIAA titles in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023 & 2024.

At the 2001 NCAA Division III Championships, the Calvin women finished 18th. In 2001, Gelderloos guided the Calvin women's swim team to its first-ever MIAA title and led the Knights to a repeat performance in 2002. At the 2001 NCAA Division III Championships, the Calvin women finished 18th with 42 points while the men's team also finished 18th, compiling 52 points. It marked the first time that both Calvin swimming and diving teams have earned top-20 national finishes in the same year as well as the best national team finishes for both Calvin squads.

In 2002, Gelderloos set the bar a notch higher for the Calvin men's team as he led the Knights to their first-ever top-10 national finish. At the 2002 NCAA III Championships, Calvin took ninth with a school-record total of 136.5 points. Gelderloos has since led the Calvin women's team to back-to-back top 10 national finishes as the Knights were 10th at the 2005 NCAA III Championships, sixth at the 2006 NCAA III Championships, fourth at the 2007 NCAA III Championships, eighth at the 2008 NCAA III Championships and seventh at the 2009 NCAA III Championships. In 2013, Calvin finished 13th led by a national runner-up finish by Elizabeth Counsell in the 200 breaststroke.

In addition, Gelderloos has helped Calvin swimmers earn national champion and national runner-up finishes as Peter Boumgarden was second in the 100 butterfly at the 2002 NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships while Becky Weima was second in the 200 freestyle at the 2004 NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. In 2005, Weima captured the national title in the 200 freestyle and followed with national titles in the 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle and 200 freestyle in 2006. In 2007 and 2009, Calvin diver Erica Deur won national titles on the one-meter board and was named the NCAA Division III Diver of the Year.

Gelderloos has received the ASCA (American Swimming Coaches Association) certificate of excellence five times in his career. He is currently recognized as an ASCA Level 5 Coach -- a ranking system up to 5 based on a coaches' swimming education and their swimmer's performance at the national level.

Gelderloos has also coached all 23 MIAA women's MVPs in program history. The men's program has had nine MVP awards under coach Gelderloos.

He frequently takes his Calvin swimming and diving teams overseas on mission trips, traveling to Thailand in May of 2022.  and again in May of 2024.

A 1994 Calvin graduate, Gelderloos earned a master's degree at the University of Memphis and completed his master's work in physical education at Western Michigan University. At Memphis, he also served as an assistant swim coach with the Memphis U.S.S. club program.

Gelderloos and his wife Vicki live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with their sons Ryan, Will, and Luke. Also an avid cyclist and runner, Gelderloos competes in area triathlons and has also completed the Grand Rapids River Bank 25K Run several times. In 2012, he completed the Michigan Titanium Triathlon which was held at Ironman distance. Gelderloos completed the triathlon in just over 12 hours.