Ben Delia

Ben Delia

Ben Delia joins the Villanova program as an assistant coach ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, coming to the Main Line after serving as the head coach at Franklin & Marshall for the last 11 seasons.

Delia's tenure at Franklin & Marshall was marked by unprecedented success. He led the Diplomats in an era that was highlighted by two Olympic Trials qualifiers, 50 All-Americans and a team-best 17th place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division III Championships on the men's side. He ended his time at the helm with 120 dual victories in total with both the men and women winning 60 each. His swimmers combined for 121 All-Centennial Conference honors, winning 59 gold medals at the conference championships.

The men's unit was ranked among the top 10 men's teams nationally throughout most of the 2022 regular. He guided the men's program to a Centennial Conference Championship in 2020, being tabbed the league's Coach of the Year. That title was the group's first in over a decade, recording its first undefeated regular season since the 1964-65 campaign. On the women's side, Delia oversaw a Diplomat's program that held 13 school records throughout his tenure. The team earned a pair of Centennial Conference runner-up finishes during his career. He aided three-time Paralympic Gold Medalist Becca Meyers '16 to All-America honors during the 2016 season.

Before Franklin & Marshall, Delia was the head women's swimming coach at Randolph-Macon College for four years. While there, the team finished second at the ODAC Championships every year and earned 30 All-ODAC selections, winning 13 conference event championships and set two conference records. He was tabbed the conference's Coach of the Year in 2011 after his crew won nine of the 18 championship events, sweeping the conference posteseason awards.

Delia's coaching career started as an assistant at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn. after finishing his student-athlete career at Hamilton, graduating in 2005. He was a member of the All-NESCAC team and was a championship finalist multiple times, THe Oswego, N.Y. native graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a concentration in Economics. He earned his Master's Degree in Economics from Trinity College in 2007.