Redlands

A familiar face to Bulldog Athletics, Leslie Whittemore currently serves as the Head Swimming & Diving Coach and Associate Director of Athletics for compliance.  After a two-year hiatus, she rejoined the University of Redlands as the Eligibility & Compliance Coordinator in 2012-13.  In August 2015, she returned to full-time status as the Head Swimming & Diving Coach while maintaining her role as the Bulldogs' NCAA compliance and eligibility coordinator.  In 2022, she received the title of Associate Director of Athletics for Compliance.

Whittemore first became the head coach of men's and women's swimming & diving in 1996. During her first stint, the men's program won seven SCIAC titles, the women's program captured three SCIAC titles, and neither team ever finished lower than third place in the final conference standings. Her combined SCIAC dual-meet record over her first 14 seasons was 151–26. Whittemore also played an integral role in the development of many record-holders, All-Americans, and NCAA Championship qualifiers.  Over her 20 years, she has amassed more than 100 dual-meet victories in each program. 

In addition, Whittemore's teams were consistently among Redlands' top-performing academic programs and included three NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients and numerous Scholar All-Americans.

Outside of coaching, Whittemore previously served as a valuable asset to Bulldog Athletics and the SCIAC. She took on the role of Senior Woman Administrator from 1998 to 2006 and taught numerous Physical Education courses.

Since stepping away in 2010, Whittemore also worked in real estate, coached various youth sports, volunteered at her children's school, and has been a consistent supporter of Bulldog Athletics.

Beyond her involvement with compliance and eligibility at Redlands, Whittemore served as the Meet Director for the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (SCIAC) Swimming & Diving Championships. In this role, she coordinated the administrative responsibilities with the host institution in preparation for the four-day event and managed the meet with a friendly and knowledgeable presence on the deck.

Highlighted by earning All-SCIAC recognition each year of her swimming career and twice garnering the distinction in water polo, Whittemore attended the University of Redlands as a successful dual-sport student-athlete. She finished her degree in Psychology and then went on to complete her master's degree as the first aquatics graduate assistant in Redlands' history.

This native of Salt Lake City, UT, was also a member of Yeomen and the Alpha Theta Phi sorority. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her family. She is married to former men’s water polo coach and current faculty member, Tom Whittemore. They currently reside in Redlands with their son, Tait, and daughter, Maggie.