Marist water polo head coach Chris Vidale is leaving Poughkeepsie to become the head coach at the University of Michigan, according to a release from Michigan Athletics and an Instagram post from Marist Athletics on Thursday.
“We are thrilled to welcome Chris as the new water polo coach for our program,” Michigan Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics Warde Manuel said in the release. “His leadership, vision and commitment to developing student-athletes in and out of the pool make Chris an outstanding fit for our team.”
“I am honored and excited to be named the head coach of the Michigan water polo program,” Vidale said in the release. “Michigan represents excellence at the highest level, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead and to serve these young women.”
Vidale, who just finished his 10th season at the helm of the program, leaves with an all-time record of 199-129. Under Vidale, the Red Foxes went to seven MAAC Championship games, winning in 2021 and going on to win an NCAA Tournament game. Most recently, Marist lost to Wagner in the MAAC Championship game for the third consecutive season.
Over the last decade, Marist featured regularly in the top-25 of the CWPA national poll. The Red Foxes regularly played a challenging schedule, often going out west to take on powerhouses like Arizona State and San Diego State, as well as more local schools like Brown, Princeton and Harvard, all frequently in the top-25.
Vidale came to Marist after spending time as an assistant coach at Iona, three years leading Greenwich High School and four years in charge of the NYC Athletic Club’s team, in which he coached numerous Olympians and won three straight national championships. Vidale also featured as a player at the 2009 CCCAN games, where he won bronze as a member of the Trinidad and Tobago team. As a player at Iona from 2003-2007, Vidale scored 30 goals and assisted on eight across 67 games.
Michigan won its conference this season with an 18-10 record. Former head coach Cassie Churnside resigned in March of this year, which promoted assistant Sami Tai to acting head coach for the season. The Red Foxes are 0-15 all-time against the Wolverines.
Marist has not announced a timeline for naming Vidale’s successor.
Edited by Max Rosen
Photo from Marist Athletics
For more coverage of Marist athletics, follow @cfmarist on Instagram, X, TikTok and Bluesky, and sign up to receive daily alerts here.