Don Gambril started coaching swimmers in 1958. In the years since he has coached on every level imaginable and won enough honors to stagger two men. He has been an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team four times: 1968, 1972, 1976, and 1980. He was the head coach of the highly successful 1984 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Los Angeles. He has coached 18 U.S. National teams in all.

Gambril spent 17 years as the head coach of the national powerhouse University of Alabama men’s team and 10 years at the helm of the nationally prominent University of Alabama women’s program. He garnered three conference championships and placed in the top ten nationally a total of 15 times, with the highest finish being a second place finish by the 1977 men’s team. At Alabama, Gambril-coached swimmers have garnered world records, national and conference championships, and countless All-America and all-conference honors.

During his collegiate coaching career, which included stints at Pasadena City College, Long Beach State, and Harvard, as well as Alabama, Gambril has produced a 350-60 record. He is the all-time winningest coach in the history of Alabama Swimming.

As coach of the U.S. National team, Gambril has worked with the biggest swimming names in the modern era, including Mark Spitz, John Nabors, Matt Biondi, Janet Evans, and Mary T. Meagher.

Gambril was most recently coach of the U.S. Men’s National team for the World Championships at Perth, Australia, in January of 1991. In addition, he has been head coach of the World Student Games team, the U.S. Pan Pacific Games team, the Pan American Games team, the U.S. versus the U.S.S.R. Dual Meet team, and the Goodwill Games team, representing a clean sweep of all the United States’ international team. He is the only coach to have accomplished such a feat. He also was head coach of two Macabian Games teams and the World Military Championships (S.I.S.M.) team. At the end of the 1990 season, Gambril turned over the reins of the Alabama teams to one of his former swimmers, Jonty Skinner, to become an Assistant Athletic Director at Alabama. He is responsible for all men’s sports with the exception of football and basketball, and all women’s sports, except gymnastics, fifteen in all.

Over the years Gambril has been honored by countless organizations for his talents as a coach. He is a member of the International Hall of Fame and earned the prestigious United States Swimming Award in 1983 and the Scholastic Coach Award in 1985. He has also been recognized by the American Swim Coaches Association as Coach of the Year and has also served that organization as president.

A much sought after speaker, Gambril has spoken in 5 countries and all but two of the 50 states.

Gambril is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, having served in the Navy from 1955 to 1957. He and his wife Teddy were married in 1953, and they have three children: Kim, Troy, and Greg and 8 grandchildren. Kim, Troy, and Greg are all graduates of The University of Alabama, while Greg is also a graduate of The University of Alabama School of Law.