Gulliver Scott was named head coach of the University of Portland women’s rowing team in September of 2020. Scott, who previously served as Associate Head Coach at Saint Mary’s, is the third head coach in program history.
“We are excited to welcome Gulliver to the Pilot family,” Portland Vice President for Athletics Scott Leykam said. “His vision for elevating our program was clear and he has the knowledge, passion and leadership skills to do great things here on The Bluff. The rowing program has tremendous potential going forward and it was important for us to find not only a great coach and recruiter, but also someone with the leadership qualities to manage a large roster. Following an extensive national search with a tremendous candidate pool, Gulliver stood out as a great fit for our program, campus and the Portland community.”
In his two seasons so far in Portland, Scott has helped the Pilots earn wins at several events, including key wins in 2022 at the Husky Open and the San Diego Crew Classic. Four Pilots have earned All-WCC honors the past two seasons with Scott at the helm.
Scott came to The Bluff with 17 years of coaching experience including an extensive background in the Bay Area where he coached at Berkeley High School for 11 years before joining the Saint Mary’s staff the last three seasons. He received his master’s degree in Kinesiology at Saint Mary’s in 2019 and is the co-chair of the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
“I am really excited to be joining the UP family,” Scott said. “I want to thank Scott Leykam, Karen Peters, and Jackie Greulich for giving me this great opportunity. The staff, coaches, and student-athletes I have met so far have been incredibly welcoming and it really speaks to the quality of people here at the University and in the Athletic Department. This is a dream job for me: a top-notch academic institution in a small-school setting with a beautiful campus, great facilities, and strong support for athletics. Portland is also an awesome place to live.
“Pasha Spencer did a great job building momentum for this program and there are some really exciting things happening here right now, including the new boathouse being built on campus. This is a great time to be a Pilot and I can't wait to get to work!”
Scott joined Saint Mary’s as an assistant coach in 2017 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2019. He helped the Gaels win the Women’s Collegiate 8+ and Collegiate 4+ at the 2019 Head of the Lagoon and won the Varsity 8+ at the 2019 UP Invite. Scott supervised or assisted in nearly all facets of the program including management of the walk-on recruiting program, academics, technical training, development and facilitation of the leadership curriculum, fundraising, and supervision of other assistant and volunteer coaches.
“Gulliver is an excellent coach and has been a pleasure to work with,” Saint Mary’s Rowing Head Coach Anna Pytlak said. “I am excited for him to take the next step in his career and even more excited that he will be staying in the West Coast Conference, because our league just got stronger.”
Prior to his time at Saint Mary’s, Scott had a decorated high school coaching career serving as Berkeley High School Crew Team Director from 2013-17 and Women’s Head Coach from 2012-17. Scott led the women’s team to its most successful results in history, producing multiple medals at National and Southwest Regional Championships. He was also an assistant coach for the men’s team from 2006-12.
Scott also served as the Men’s Head Coach of the East Bay Rowing Club from 2015-18 in addition to his role as the club’s Program Director from 2015-16. His oversight led to the clubs most successful seasons ever including first-place finishes in the Men’s Master’s 8+ at the Northwest and Southwest Masters Championships.
Scott was a four-year varsity rower at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. where he graduated in 1997. He joined the Wesleyan staff as an assistant coach from 2000-02.
“I first met Gulliver as a highly rated recruit out of Berkeley High School in the 1990’s,” said Wesleyan men’s rowing Head Coach Phil Carney. “His great character and work ethic were clear from the start. Over the last 25 years it has been a pleasure to coach with him and watch him rise through the collegiate coaching ranks. Congratulations to Portland for selecting Gulliver as the new head coach. I am certain that his outstanding work will have a huge and lasting impact on the Portland student-athletes.”
