Men's Swimming & Diving
James Sica
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- jsica@bu.edu
- Phone:
- (617) 358-3765
James Sica enters his fourth season as Boston University’s head swimming & diving coach in 2026-27 and has put the program on an upward path with notable improvements across the board from talented scholar-athletes across the country and beyond.
A total of 15 school records (8 men’s, 7 women’s) have been broken since Sica took the helm of the program with 10 of those times occurring during the 2025-26 season, which also produced three new pool records and a combined 50 new program top-10 times. On the diving side, BU set a school record for NCAA Zones qualifiers with five.
The 2026 Patriot League Championships were one of the most successful in program history with 12 podium finishes leading to eight All-Patriot League honors, the most since 2017. The men had tremendous improvement from the 2025 meet, increasing their point total by 309.5 points while the women upped their total by 187, which were the top two improvements across the conference.
Sica and his assistants swept the Patriot League women's coaching awards in 2026, being named both the swimming and diving Coaching Staffs of the Year. BU last swept conference coach of the year honors in 2008.
In his first season at BU, Sica led the women's team to a third-place finish at the Patriot League Championship, which was their highest showing in eight years. The men's team placed fifth and had the eighth-highest GPA among Division I programs at 3.66.
Sica was named the head swimming & diving coach at BU on May 25, 2023, after a six-year stint at MIT, where he was instrumental in the success of the Engineers' programs. He served as MIT's associate head coach for two seasons, including a semester as acting head coach, after joining the staff in 2017. In his six years, the Engineers won every men's and women's team conference championship contested and never finished outside of the top 10 at the NCAA Championships. Prior to MIT, Sica was an assistant at Carnegie Mellon, Harvard and his alma mater, Ithaca College.
While serving as acting head coach for the second half of the 2021-22 season, Sica led the Engineers to men's and women's NEWMAC titles, two top-10 NCAA finishes and four NCAA champions, the most MIT has won in a single season in program history. He went on to earn NEWMAC Men's Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year honors for his efforts.
In 2022-23, the MIT men had the highest team GPA in the country in the fall (3.82) and went on to earn their highest finish at NCAAs (fifth) since the 2017-18 season. The women finished eighth in the nation and had their highest point total in program history at both the NCAA Championships (222 points) and NEWMAC Championships (1,441).
In 2018-19, the men's team posted the top GPA in the country for both the fall (3.78) and spring (3.76) semesters, and also had 17 individuals named to the Scholar All-America team, tying for most in the country across all divisions.
In his first season with the Engineers, both teams had top-six finishes at the NCAAs with the women earning their highest point total to date (211).
Sica came to MIT from Carnegie Mellon, where he served as an assistant coach from 2015-17. Prior to his time with the Tartans, Sica was a volunteer assistant coach for Harvard's women's program for the 2014-15 season in addition to being the associate head coach of the Cambridge Masters Swim Club.
A 2012 graduate from Ithaca as a double major in writing and English, Sica was a member of the Bombers' back-to-back UNYSSCA championships in 2011 and 2012 and was voted as team captain as a senior. He stayed on as an assistant coach at Ithaca from 2012-14 while completing a master's degree in sport and exercise science with a concentration in sport psychology.
A total of 15 school records (8 men’s, 7 women’s) have been broken since Sica took the helm of the program with 10 of those times occurring during the 2025-26 season, which also produced three new pool records and a combined 50 new program top-10 times. On the diving side, BU set a school record for NCAA Zones qualifiers with five.
The 2026 Patriot League Championships were one of the most successful in program history with 12 podium finishes leading to eight All-Patriot League honors, the most since 2017. The men had tremendous improvement from the 2025 meet, increasing their point total by 309.5 points while the women upped their total by 187, which were the top two improvements across the conference.
Sica and his assistants swept the Patriot League women's coaching awards in 2026, being named both the swimming and diving Coaching Staffs of the Year. BU last swept conference coach of the year honors in 2008.
In his first season at BU, Sica led the women's team to a third-place finish at the Patriot League Championship, which was their highest showing in eight years. The men's team placed fifth and had the eighth-highest GPA among Division I programs at 3.66.
Sica was named the head swimming & diving coach at BU on May 25, 2023, after a six-year stint at MIT, where he was instrumental in the success of the Engineers' programs. He served as MIT's associate head coach for two seasons, including a semester as acting head coach, after joining the staff in 2017. In his six years, the Engineers won every men's and women's team conference championship contested and never finished outside of the top 10 at the NCAA Championships. Prior to MIT, Sica was an assistant at Carnegie Mellon, Harvard and his alma mater, Ithaca College.
While serving as acting head coach for the second half of the 2021-22 season, Sica led the Engineers to men's and women's NEWMAC titles, two top-10 NCAA finishes and four NCAA champions, the most MIT has won in a single season in program history. He went on to earn NEWMAC Men's Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year honors for his efforts.
In 2022-23, the MIT men had the highest team GPA in the country in the fall (3.82) and went on to earn their highest finish at NCAAs (fifth) since the 2017-18 season. The women finished eighth in the nation and had their highest point total in program history at both the NCAA Championships (222 points) and NEWMAC Championships (1,441).
In 2018-19, the men's team posted the top GPA in the country for both the fall (3.78) and spring (3.76) semesters, and also had 17 individuals named to the Scholar All-America team, tying for most in the country across all divisions.
In his first season with the Engineers, both teams had top-six finishes at the NCAAs with the women earning their highest point total to date (211).
Sica came to MIT from Carnegie Mellon, where he served as an assistant coach from 2015-17. Prior to his time with the Tartans, Sica was a volunteer assistant coach for Harvard's women's program for the 2014-15 season in addition to being the associate head coach of the Cambridge Masters Swim Club.
A 2012 graduate from Ithaca as a double major in writing and English, Sica was a member of the Bombers' back-to-back UNYSSCA championships in 2011 and 2012 and was voted as team captain as a senior. He stayed on as an assistant coach at Ithaca from 2012-14 while completing a master's degree in sport and exercise science with a concentration in sport psychology.
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