The sixth head coach selected for induction, longtime Massachusetts Institute of Technology head coach John Benedick became the first honoree from MIT or a Cambridge school (Harvard University, MIT).

Benedick coached the Engineers men’s water polo program from 1975-to-1996.  During his 23-year tenure on the bench, he tallied an overall record of 158-263-2 to rank as the all-time winningest coach in the 42-year history of the sport at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The coach of 10 Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) All-America selections and 15 All-New England picks, he captured the 1991 CWPA Division III Eastern Championship and reached the Division III Eastern title game three-times (1991, 1994, 1996).

MIT’s swimming & diving coach along with his duties as water polo coach, he helped 50 of his athletes earn All-America honors, produced numerous conference champions, and developed three national champions in swimming.

Since 1997 he has served as Assistant Director of Athletics at MIT, a role which deals with the development of operational processes and procedures for the intercollegiate athletic program.

He was instrumental in the planning of MIT’s current facility, the Zesiger Center, visiting over 20 top facilities to draw ideas and provide feedback as to what the institution needed in an aquatics and recreation facility.

The President of the Collegiate Water Polo Association and a member of the organization’s Board of Directors, Benedick graduated from California State University at Hayward with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education before earning a Master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

CWPA Hall of Fame inductees George Gross, John Benedick and Ed Reed