Gophers head men’s swimming coach Dennis Dale won’t return to the program next year, the University announced in a release Wednesday morning.

University associate athletics director for strategic communications Chris Werle told the Minnesota Daily that Dale’s contract expired and the University decided not to renew it.

Dale arrived on campus in 1985 to coach a team that hadn’t placed higher than fourth in the Big Ten in more than 20 years.

A 1967 University alumnus, Dale reinvigorated the program and helped turn the team into a consistent force in the Big Ten.

He achieved his first Big Ten title as a coach in the 1995-96 season and helped the team win six more titles over the next 11 seasons.

The six-time Big Ten Coach of the Year coached more than 100 NCAA All-Americans and helped put together a run of five consecutive top-10 NCAA finishes from 2000 to 2004.

“Dennis built our men’s swimming program and has been the guiding force behind its many accomplishments,” athletics director Norwood Teague said in the release. “You don’t have this amount of consistent success without a truly special individual, and we have had that in Dennis for 29 years.”

Gophers head men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach Kelly Kremer declined to comment on the announcement of Dale’s departure.