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End of an era, but what a ride

Alumni, friends and colleagues celebrate retirement of ski coach Cory Schwartz and his four decades of excellence

Cory Schwartz coaching female ski athlete

Schwartz spent 42 years as the men’s and women’s Nordic head coach and 37 years as the coordinator of both the alpine and Nordic programs for his alma mater. During his tenure, Schwartz led the Wildcats to 31 top-10 NCAA placements, including eighth place in 2024 and a program-best sixth place in 2022.

Photo by Steve Fuller, FlyingPoint

Cory Schwartz ’82, whose name has been synonymous with UNH skiing for 46 years, first as a student-athlete and then as Nordic head coach and program coordinator, was feted at a retirement party with current and former UNH skiers, colleagues, family and friends in November.

The party was part celebration and part rallying cry for the skiing community — supporters, including alumni and parents, have traditionally been the most active donors among athletic teams during UNH fundraising events like The (603) Challenge. Schwartz was instrumental in creating that culture of philanthropy.

When he announced his retirement previously, he talked with the media about his tenure. Below is an excerpt from the Q&A he did with Matt Hall of the Union-Leader newspaper.

What were those early years like coaching the program compared to your final few years? (At the start) I wasn’t much older than my athletes. … Just learning how to (coach) them and pretty much build that team atmosphere was probably the thing that I learned right away that was real important. We created some things that we did that helped build that bond between us. For example, every fall we go and ski the Kancamagus Highway on roller skis.

Is there a season where you felt like UNH had become one of the top programs nationally? It was in 1985. We had a really strong group and we came together fairly quickly, especially on the men’s side, in terms of deep talent. I think we had all non-scholarship athletes and they came in fifth in the nation as a Nordic men’s team. … I think that brought us fairly quickly into the limelight.

What were the most important traits you looked for when recruiting athletes or that you tried to instill in your athletes? You have to put a lot of time in to succeed. You have to like to train, so that was something that I was always looking for. As recruiting changed, we had to bring skiers to UNH so they could see what opportunities they had. We’re going against Dartmouth and a lot of the private schools. … We’re a university versus schools that have a lot more money and facilities. We really tried to bring them on to show them the opportunities that they would have at UNH, not only academically but also on the team. Sometimes that also meant trying to (tell) them that they’re going to make more of a difference at UNH than they might at, for example, Dartmouth.

Do you expect you’ll stay in the sport in some capacity? I think I’ll enjoy some personal-type skiing by myself and with my wife, Julie ’84, who was on the (UNH) team with me. That’s where we met. I’ll probably stay involved with the team in whatever manner that they ask … I’m sure I’ll go to races and cheer and maybe sometimes lend a hand.

Read more: Full article at bit.ly/3DElUWf

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