Ron Johnson was at the helm of Arizona State Men's swim & dive program for 18 years from 1976-1993 and coached more that 100 All-Americans in his time in Tempe. He guided the Sun Devils to six top-10 finishes, reaching as high as sixth place in 1982 and was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 1983. While coaching the Sun Devils, he also coached multiple Olympic teams, being head coach of the Mexican National Team in 1968 and 1972. In his time he coached 14 Olympic medal winners and 24 Olympic finalists. In addition he was named a coach for the Brazilian National Team in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games. While manning the Men's Swim team, he served as the women's co-coach with Mona Plummer, assisting the team that won the 1977 and 1978 AIAW national championships and being named co-coach of the year in 1978-79 by the National Women's Swimming Association.
In his first 11 years that Johnson was at the helm of the men's swim program, he produced 20 conference champions in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and the Pac-10 conference, and ranked second among all college coaches from 1976-1987, coaching over 90 All-Americans in that span. In the 1984 Olympics alone Johnson coached six finalists and four received medals. In 2007, he entered the Sun Devil Hall of Fame for his 17 years of service for the Swim and Dive program.
Pac-10 Men's Champions Under Coach Johnson
Christiano Michelena, 1650 free (1993)
Eduardo Piccinini, 100 fly (1993)
Troy Dalbey, 200 free (1991)
Peter Boden, 100 breast and 200 breast (1987)
Neil Cochran, 200 IM (1984 and 1986)
Mike Orn, 200 IM (1983)
Cameron Reid, 400 IM (1983)
Brad Hering, 100 fly (1981 and 1982) and 400 free relay (1980)
Andy Astbury, 500 free (1981)
Sam Jones, 100 free (1980) and 400 free relay (1980)
Sam Hewson, 400 free relay (1980) and 100 free (1979)
Graham Welbourn, 400 free relay (1980)
NCAA CHAMPIONS UNDER RON JOHNSON
200-yard freestyle
1983: Mike Orn
500-yard freestyle
1982: Andy Astbury
ALL-AMERICANS UNDER RON JOHNSON
1976: Blake Johnson
1977: Blake Johnson
1978: Paul Asmuth, Thomas Townsend, Shannon Varner
1979: Paul Asmuth, Sam Hewson, Sam Jones, Tom Lundgaard, James New, Shannon Varner, Graham Welbourn
1980: Andy Astbury, Brad Hering, Sam Hewson, Sam Jones, Shannon Varner, Graham Welbourn
1981: Andy Astbury, Bruce Foster, Jim Hadley, Brad Hering, Mike Orn, Cam Reid, Graham Welbourn
1982: Andy Astbury, Peter Berggren, Bruce Foster, Brad Hering, Mike Orn, Cam Reid, Rob Wallenius, Graham Welbourn
1983: Andy Astbury, Peter Berggren, David Black, Scott Brackett, Bruce Foster, Scott Geerts, Brad Hering, Sam Hewson, Jeff Holshevnikoff, Mike Orn, Dan Plant, Cam Reid
1984: Peter Berggren, Scott Brackett, Neil Cochran, Paul Easter. Bruce Foster, Scott Geerts, Andy Jameson, John Laderer, Mike Orn, Brett Rose
1985: Peter Boden, Scott Brackett, Neil Cochran, Scott Geerts, Andy Jameson, John Laderer, Brett Rose
1986: Peter Boden, Scott Brackett, Neil Cochran, Andy Jameson, John Laderer, Brett Rose
1987: Peter Boden, Andy Jameson
1988: Peter Boden
1990: Keith Dennison, Paul Howe, Emmanuel Nascimento, Richard Tapper, Eric Wilhelm
1991: Scott Benesch, Steve Carroll, Troy Dalbey, Keith Dennison, Magnus Ericksson, David Holderbach, Emmanuel Nascimento, Richard Tapper, Eric Wilhelm
1992: Jason Blaylock, David Holderbach, Doug King, David LeBlanc, Cristiano Michelena, Emmanuel Nascimento, Richard Tapper
1993: Jason Blaylock, David Holderbach, Doug King, Cristiano Michelena, Emmanuel Nascimento, Simon Percy, Eduardo Piccinini, Robert Shamosh
Johnson's Record at ASU
| Year | Dual | Conference | NCAA |
| 1989-90 | 10-2 | 4th | 15th |
| 1988-89 | 5-4 | 6th | T-27th |
| 1987-88 | 3-5 | 5th | 17th |
| 1986-87 | 7-3 | 3rd | 10th |
| 1985-86 | 2-5 | 5th | 9th |
| 1984-85 | 2-2 | 5th | 12th |
| 1983-84 | 3-2 | 4th | 7th |
| 1982-83 | 5-3 | 3rd | 7th |
| 1981-82 | 11-2 | 4th | 6th |
| 1980-81 | 10-2 | 4th | 16th |
| 1979-80 | 6-3 | 3rd | 13th |
| 1978-79 | 9-2 | 4th | 14th |
| 1977-78 | 5-5 | 2nd | 24th |
| 1976-77 | 10-3 | 2nd | 21st |
| 1975-76 | 4-3 | 2nd | - |
| Total | 82-44 |