Ernie Maglischo, a 1995 inductee into the Oakland University Athletics Hall of Honor, received the Buck Dawson Authors Award July 6 at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb. as part of the 2008 International Swimming Hall of Fame Honoree Induction Ceremony. The award honors those who influence competitive swimming through the authoring of books and other publications. Dawson, who heavily contributed to the International Swimming Hall of Fame???s creation, hand-picked Maglischo to be the first recipient of this award before his passing this April. Maglischo has authored three books on swimming, ???Swimming Fast,??? ???Swimming Faster,??? and ???Swimming Fastest??? and co-authored a book on nutrition and three swimming computer programs. He has also penned various pamphlets and manuals. ???The fact that Buck personally selected Ernie for this award prior to his passing is a great honor,??? said director of athletics Tracy Huth, who was recruited by Maglischo for the 1980-81 season. ???This award is a tribute to Ernie's work over the years in defining the sport of swimming in scientific terms. His book, ???Swimming Faster??? still has a prominent place in my collection. The fact that some of us from OU experienced the development of his theories and, eventually the book, will always be something to cherish.??? Maglischo???s stay at OU only lasted two seasons, 1979-80 and 1980-81, but his impact was deep, as he led Oakland to their first national championship and brought in components that would eventually help make OU a swimming and diving powerhouse. In addition to the recruiting of Huth, who was a three-time NCAA Division II Swimmer of the Year and later became a three-time NCAA Division II Coach of the Year for the then-Pioneers, Maglischo also brought Pete Hovland on to be his assistant coach, who has since led the Golden Grizzlies to nine straight Summit League titles. ???His impact on the program came when he was able to take a talented team and win the university???s first national title,??? said Hovland. ???He was the missing link. We were a talented team and he got them over the hump and, by doing so, set the standard for the program. His success proved that we had the recourses and ingredients to be able to win national titles at OU and to make that a goal for us to strive for.??? Maglischo went on to earn 13 national championships at six different schools and received the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year six times. He was awarded the title of Master Coach by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America in 1978 and nine years later, was bestowed the Honor Award by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance for his contributions to aquatics. In 1991, Maglischo made more room in his trophy case when the College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) awarded him the National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Award, the highest award of its kind in the country. Maglischo has been inducted into five other Halls, the others being California-Chico, the city of Chino, the Washington High School Alumni, the State University of New York at New Paltz, and the Canton Ohio Swimming Hall of Fame. ???Being an educator and researcher himself, Ernie always had high expectations of his student-athletes academically and athletically,??? said Huth. ???This remains a basic principle for our intercollegiate athletics program today. Oakland University will forever be linked with not only Ernie's success but with his professionalism.??? He is currently retired from Arizona State University and lives in Prescott Valley, Ariz. with his family.