Swimming and diving coach John Hargis is Penn State’s third head coach to resign this month after accepting a job as associate head coach of Auburn’s swimming team.

Hargis follows baseball coach Robbie Wine and softball coach Robin Petrini out the door. Auburn has an extremely strong swimming program and their decision to hire Hargis speaks to what he accomplished during his time at Penn State.

Hargis came to Penn State in 2008 and led the swimming program as head coach for the past five years. He coached Patrick Schirk to a World University Games silver medal in his first season. Seventeen of his swimmers competed in the 2012 Olympic Trials.

Hargis is an Olympic gold medal swimmer and is returning to his alma mater with this hiring. After graduating from Auburn, he served as an assistant athletic director at the school before coaching one season at UNLV.

Hargis joined the Nittany Lions program in 2004 as an assistant coach for a swimming program that saw its women’s team win two straight Big Ten championships. He was hired from Penn State to be Arkansas’ head coach in 2006, but returned to Penn State in 2008 when the head coach position opened up.