BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — For fans of water polo, the recent rise of water polo in the state of Texas is a relatively new occurrence. The Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) has maintained a presence in the state through the collegiate club ranks, but the increase in the number of high school programs and the emergence of Austin College’s varsity men’s and women’s programs have continued an ascension of the sport in the Lone Star State.
Previously, the league highlighted the story of University of Texas swimming and water polo/flying disc games founding father Julian “Tex” Robertson prior to recalling the life and success of Texas A&M University’s Art Adamson – the longtime coach of the Aggies’ swimming and water polo programs.
In a continuation of a periodic series recalling coaches from the past, the league turns its attention to former Texas A&M and Occidental College head coach Dennis Fosdick.
In a four-decade career as both a player and coach in California and Texas, Fosdick worked at every level of the sport – from high school competition to the Olympics.
A member of the US Water Polo Hall of Fame, Fosdick was honored in 2022 as the the Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association named its Most Valuable Player (MVP) trophy the “Dennis Fosdick MVP Trophy”.
A native of San Diego, Calif., “Foz” – he was known – was born on February 4, 1939. His family moved to Palo Alto in 1948. He graduated from Palo Alto High School before earning bachelors and masters degrees from San Jose State University, where he played goalie on the Spartans men’s team.
While at San Jose State, he spent his free time as the swimming coach at a youth club in East San Jose, coaching age group swimming as well as assisting the Santa Clara University swimming team. He then worked a three-year stint as the head coach of Amarillo Swimming.
In 1970, he succeeded Pat Patterson and Adamson at Texas A&M University in 1970 as head coach of the Aggies’ men’s water polo program.
As head coach at Texas A&M throughout the 1970s, Fosdick compiled a 189-32-1 record with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship appearances in 1975 and 1977. He started the university’s women’s program in the mid-1970s and enjoyed similar success. While at Texas A&M, he also launched the Texas State Water Polo Tournament for high school teams. Fosdick refereed and organized all of the championships through 1979, also promoting clinics at the College Station campus that helped high school water polo flourish in Texas. What began with 8 to 12 boys’ teams playing in the Texas A&M State Championship tournament became a hotly contested 16-team, three-day championships in which 91 teams from the state vied for the Texas Interscholastic Swimming Coaches Association State Championship.
Even after leaving Texas to relocate to California in 1980, it was his tireless dedication to the development program of the U.S. Olympic Team that educated and motivated the very best players and most successful coaches. Many U.S. Olympic athletes and coaches were products of the annual water polo development camp created and run by Fosdick during his 18 years of service as chair of the U.S. Water Polo National Development Committee. He would get sponsors for the camps and development teams and he talked well known artists and filmmakers like Jack White and Greg Bonhan (producer of the television show Baywatch) to donate their time to develop manuals and videos. Over 25 years, Foz conducted 62 water polo camps .
He moved back to California in 1980 to work with the men’s national program and to take the position of head swim coach/assistant water polo coach at Long Beach City College, where he was Southern California Community College Athletic Council Conference Swimming & Diving Coach of the Year. He was the U.S. team leader for the 1981 World Junior Championships, the 1987 Pan American Games and the 1988 Olympic Games.
He continued to support all high school water polo as chairman of the U.S. Water Polo National Development Committee from 1978 to 1996.
In 1993, he took over at Occidental College. During his 11 years at Occidental College (1993-2003), the women’s water polo team made eight consecutive appearances in the nationals, winning the championship – Occidental’s first – in 2000. He was named “Coach of the Year” six times, including Division III honors in 2000.
“The time he spent with water polo limited the time he spent with the family,” said Dennis’ brother, Wade ‘Bud’ Fosdick. “He’d show up for the important holidays and then rush off to some camp or tournament. He just spent so much time with water polo. He once told me he thought he could never get married because no woman would put up with the hours he devoted to water polo. He really devoted his life to it.”
Outside of water polo, he an avid collector and trader of cowboy and native American art and artifacts, made his own Indian beadwork. He also spent several years remodeling his 1920s vintage Spanish revival home in the hills of Glendale, which was featured on the cover of “American Bungalow” magazine in 2001.
“He did a great job with his house,” said long-time friend and renowned architect Jay Flood. “Foz could have been a great architect. He had a real eye and talent for it.”
In 2002, he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery. On February 1, 2003, he passed away at the age of 63 while preparing to begin his eleventh season with Occidental water polo.
