On September 1, 2021, the Sun Devil Swim & Dive program officially announced the promotion of Marc Briggs to head diving coach. Briggs, a 2001 Sun Devil graduate, had volunteered with the team since 2011 and helped 28 young divers reach the collegiate level since 2005.
In the first season residing in the Big 12, he assisted Kayden Hayes to winning the platform diving title, one of 28 Big 12 championships the swim and dive team won en route to two Big 12 championships. It marked the first conference championship under Briggs and the first platform diving conference title since 2018. The ASU alum also helped Lane Stallworth to three podium finishes including qualifying for the NCAA Zone E championships in the 1m, 3m and platform diving events, narrowly missing out on the opportunity to dive at the NCAA Championships.
"I'm absolutely honored to be named the new diving coach for my alma mater," Briggs said. "I'm just absolutely thrilled to be part of our organization and part of Bob Bowman's group - we're building some great things. The plan is to get some divers in here for the spring and start really building for the fall and upcoming year, and I see us building a great group and running for a title at the Pac-12 Championships. The sky's the limit."
The program had zero divers at the time of Briggs' hiring, but he hit the recruiting trail hard in his first few months on the job. By January 2022, Briggs had welcomed two transfers to the team in Zachory Lundgren (Hawaii) and Thomas Wesche (GCU). Nearly two weeks after their arrival in Tempe, Briggs had readied his pair of divers for competition, as they both debuted in the team's California road trip to Stanford and Cal in late January. It marked the first time the Sun Devils have participated in the diving portion of competition since spring 2020.
In just their first season together, Briggs helped Wesche and Lundgren qualify for the NCAA Zone E Championships in March. Prior to joining the staff full-time, Briggs was a volunteer assistant who coached, organized, and oversaw home meets for the Sun Devils. He spent parts of nine seasons instructing the team's divers, including the weeks leading up to the NCAA Championships.
Briggs enjoyed a terrific athletic career with the Sun Devils where he was a three-time All-American and a conference champion from 1999-2001. He was twice-named the team's Most Valuable Diver too. Boasting a proven track record for producing and developing young talent, he spent 17 years as the head diving coach for his own organization, Sun Devil Divers, which focuses on the instruction and development of divers ages five-and-older.