MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State women’s rowing head coach Patrick Sweeney has announced his retirement after 22 seasons and will be replaced by assistant coach Kennedy Felice, the athletics department announced on Sunday (May 18).
 
“After 22 years of steering this program, being able to do this project, this feels like the right time to hand over the team to a new head coach,” said Sweeney. “I’ve always believed that college sports is all about the blending of the academic and the athletics. Athletics is a teaching opportunity, and I have enjoyed that our program is committed to that. Our department has allowed us to build the team into what it is today. I want to thank (Director of Athletics) Gene (Taylor) and (Deputy AD/SWA) Jill (Shields) for believing in that idea and helping us make sure we can keep that going as we transition into the next chapter of K-State Rowing.”
 
The second coach in Wildcats’ rowing history, Sweeney, a native of London, England, arrived in Manhattan prior to the 2003-04 season. He led the Wildcats to 11 Kansas Cup wins against in-state rival Kansas in the Sunflower Showdown while his teams excelled in the classroom highlighted by four Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year, the second-most under any current K-State head coach.
 
“Coach Sweeney has had a remarkable run lasting half a century in the sport of rowing, including the last 20-plus years here at K-State,” said Director of Athletics Gene Taylor. “When you think of K-State Rowing, you think of Pat Sweeney, and we are so appreciative of his dedication and leadership throughout his time in Manhattan. He has impacted so many student-athletes’ lives over the years and left a lasting mark on our program.”
 
A native of Manhattan, Felice was elevated to head coach after five seasons as one of Sweeney’s assistant coaches. She was a four-year member of the K-State rowing team from 2015-19 before serving as a graduate assistant from 2020-22.
 
Felice had a distinguished rowing career, serving as a team captain in her senior season while earning All-Big 12 First Team and Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) National Scholar-Athlete honors in 2018. She was also part of two Kansas Cup victories in back-to-back seasons in 2018 and 2019.
 
“I want to say thank you to Gene and Jill for this opportunity. I am excited for this next chapter with K-State Rowing,” said Felice. “This team and K-State mean so much to me. We have built something special here in Manhattan and I am grateful to be part of that. Thank you to everyone who has been part of my time here. I cannot wait to see what we accomplish next. Also, a huge thank you to my friends, family, and mentors for your support throughout my career.
 
“I also want to say thank you to Coach Sweeney. He built K-State Rowing into what we are today. It has been a privilege working with him as an athlete and as a coach. We can never say thank you enough for the opportunities he created for all of us who have been part of this program.”
 
Sweeney will stay on temporarily in an advisory role to assist Felice in the coaching transition.
 
“As we began the process of identifying our next coach, it did not take long for Kennedy’s name to surface,” said Taylor. “I have been impressed with Kennedy as she has grown from a graduate assistant with our program to an assistant coach. She knows the program inside and out, understands our philosophy and recruiting road map, and has the utmost respect of our team. We are excited for her to lead our program and leave her mark on K-State Rowing.”
 
Sweeney’s teams produced two runner-up finishes (2009, 2014) at the Big 12 Championship, while they finished third on six other occasions, including most recently in consecutive years from 2017-19. He has helped coach 23 All-Big 12 selections since 2012, including 14 to the First Team and six to the Second Team. The 2025 team had three selections with Sylvia Cunningham, Grace Hall and Gracyn McClain. He also coached the school’s first Big 12 award winner in Noelle Dykmann, who was selected as the league’s Newcomer of the Year in 2014.
 
In addition to the four Big 12 Scholar-Athletes of the Year; Jadyn Greisen (2022), Molly Ross (2019), Megan Murray (2015) and Allison Dorau (2014), Sweeney’s teams included one College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-American, Greisen (2023), and 10 CSC Academic All-District selections. He saw 27 student-athletes earn the prestigious Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award, while 351 were named to Academic All-Big 12 teams.
 
Among the 10 CSC Academic All-District honorees included Heather Hoffman (2009), Abby Weaver (2014), Grace Reilly (2018) with multiple honorees in 2023, Greisen, Kaitlyn Henke, Madison Jensen and Lauren Plum, and in 2024, Madison Koller, Neva Roenne and Catie Wood.
 
“Our program gives opportunities to American women. The opportunity to learn more about themselves and become D1 athletes. That emphasis in college sports is changing,” said Sweeney. “More and more rowing teams are focusing on international athletes and finding experienced rowers. We are losing sight of what this opportunity can be, but our team is committed to building athletes up and letting them have a real college experience.”

Sweeney’s most notable season came in 2013-14 when he led the Wildcats to a runner-up team finish at the Big 12 Championship, a gold medal sweep at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championship and a win in the Kansas Cup for the fourth consecutive season. K-State won five gold medals and a bronze medal at that SIRA Championship for the first time in program history.
 
The 2V4 boat won its second-ever Big 12 Championship in 2014 while two more boats, 1V8 and 2V8, finished as runners-up, to help the Wildcats post their highest point total (112) at the conference championship. Following the championship, Dykmann became the first Wildcat to earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honors.
 
The Wildcats also finished as the Big 12 runner-up under Sweeney in the inaugural conference season of 2009, totaling 48 points and a win with the 1V8 boat. The team also finished third as a team on six other occasions at the Big 12 Championship, including most recently in consecutive years from 2017-19.
 
Sweeney most recently led K-State to a Kansas Cup win over Kansas in 2023 while he earned consecutive wins on four occasions in 2005-06, 2008-09, 2011-14 and 2018-19.
 
“As I wrap up my time here, I want to say thank you to the many people who made this possible,” said Sweeney. “Thank you again to Gene and Jill, your leadership and belief in our team is always appreciated. Thank you to my coaching staff, past and present. All of you came through the program and helped build us into who we are today. Thank you to our boatman Tony (Staten), he has been incredibly loyal to our team, and we appreciate everything he has done. I also want to thank my wife Martha and my daughter Toula, they have been patient, understanding, and supportive throughout my entire career.
 
“And a big thank you to all our athletes, past, present, and future, who have shown the courage to take on this challenge. Our main focus has always been the character our athletes have coming in and continuing to help them see that they are hardworking, disciplined, smart people. Each and every one of them are winners and I am proud of what we accomplished here in Manhattan.”
 
Sweeney stepped in after the departure of Jenny Hale who spent seven seasons as the inaugural head coach with the 1996-97 season. Sweeney spent one year at Stanford as the associate men’s varsity coach prior to joining the Wildcats, and before that he spent seven years as head coach and technical director of the Belgian Olympic team.
 
As an athlete, Sweeney served as coxswain for the British National Team where he earned a silver medal in the 1976 Montreal games and bronze at the 1988 Seoul Olympic games. During the World Championships in 1977 and 1986 he earned gold medals as well as silver medals in 1974 and 1987.
 
“Coach Sweeney has been an incredible coach and mentor for me and so many other people throughout his career. We appreciate everything he has done with his time at K-State,” said Felice. “Those of us who have been a part of the team had the opportunity to learn about ourselves, life, and rowing, because of his commitment to this program. From all of us, our families, and our department, thank you.”
 
 

— k-statesports.com —

 
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