ANNAPOLIS, Md. – Matt Fluhr, the Tom and Candy Knudson Navy Heavyweight Rowing Head Coach, is pleased to announce on Monday that Mike Irwin has joined the heavyweight program as an assistant coach.
"We are excited to welcome Mike to Hubbard Hall," remarked Fluhr. "His experience, knowledge, and passion will significantly enhance our program and help us achieve new heights. He is committed to the development of the midshipmen as we embark on this new chapter of Navy Heavyweight Crew."
"It is an honor to have the opportunity to join the coaches and staff at the NAAA," commented Irwin. "I am excited to add to the energy inside of Hubbard Hall and look forward to working with the Midshipmen as they achieve their goals on and off the water."
An experienced leader of programs throughout the nation, Irwin's career has seen him guide club, collegiate, national and Olympic-level teams. Irwin joins the Navy heavyweight team after most recently spending 14 years as the head men's rowing coach at Saint Joseph's University.
This past season with the Hawks, Irwin's team captured the Jesuit Invitational title, had three boats advance to the grand finals of the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta and saw Saint Joseph's varsity four crew win the petite final of the 2025 IRA National Championship to place seventh overall in the nation. He was honored with the Matt Ledwith Award as the 2025 Dad Vail Regatta Coach of the Year.
Previously, Irwin and the Hawks won back-to-back Atlantic Association of Rowing Colleges in 2023 and 2024. Several years earlier, Saint Joseph's earned its first-ever spot in the year-end IRCA/IRA Top-20 poll as it was voted 17th in the nation at the end of the 2018 season.
Before taking over the Saint Joseph's program in 2011, Irwin had collegiate coaching stops at University of Pennsylvania, as the men's lightweight head coach and director of boathouse operations from 2002 to 2009, and at Yale, first as the coach of the freshman lightweight crew (1995-1999) followed by a run as the leader of the Bulldogs' freshman heavyweight crew for three seasons from 1999 through 2002.
While at Penn, Irwin was named the 2005 EARC Lightweight Coach of the Year as he guided the Quakers a bronze medal at the IRA Championships. In 2002, he led Yale's freshman heavyweight crew to a bronze medal in the Eastern Sprints, while in 1999, his freshman Lightweight crew at Yale captured two Eastern Sprints gold medals and went undefeated.
Irwin began his coaching career as the novice coach at his alma mater, Trinity College, as he led the Bantams from 1991 to 1995.
Active in the club scene as well, Irwin was involved with the Essex Rowing Club in Methuen, Massachusetts from 2009 to 2011 as the director of operations, in addition to senior coach of the men's youth and women's masters programs. Prior to that, he spent three years with the Fairmount Rowing Association as the head coach of the masters rowing program from 2005 to 2008 and with the Vesper Boat Club's senior rowing program from 2002 to 2004.
Irwin's expertise has seen him selected to participate on staffs of two U.S. National Olympic Teams (2004, 2008), five U.S. National World Championship Teams (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2007), two U.S. Junior National World Championship Teams (2014 and 2016) and one U.S. National Pan American Games Team (2007).
A native of Buffalo, New York, Irwin graduated from Trinity College in 1991 before earning a business essentials certificate in 2007 from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.
