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George Jenkins embarks upon his ninth season at the helm of the USC women’s rowing program. A coach with national and international experience and success, Jenkins has revived a Trojan program that fell into disrepair in the early 1990s.
Last season was no exception to the success he has brought to USC Rowing. With his strongest Varsity Eight teams ever, Jenkins coached the Trojans to one of the biggest upsets in the 28-year history of the San Diego Crew Classic as USC edged nine-time defending champion Washington to win the prestigious Jessop Whittier Cup. The victory was followed with a No. 2 ranking for the Women of Troy - the program’s highest ever - and a grand final appearance at the NCAA Championships (also a USC first).
Jenkins took over the Trojan program in September of 1993 when there were no athletes on the roster. He built the team to its present level of nearly 50 members, and from zero scholarships to the NCAA maximum of 20 the last two seasons. In 1998 he led the Trojans to their first NCAA championship in the Women’s Varsity Fours division.
Aside from the collegiate ranks, Jenkins has also served as a coach of the U.S. Senior “B” Team as it trained at the San Diego Olympic Training Center and competed at the Nation’s Cup in Milan, Italy, throughout the summer of 1997.
His experience on the national team level includes serving as coach of the U.S. Junior National Team in 1993. He selected the Four with Coxswain, which finished fifth at the World Championships in Oslo, Norway. In 1990, he was the Lightweight men’s coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival in St. Paul, Minn., leading them to the gold medal in the Men’s Double and the silver medal in the Men’s Straight Four. And in 1989, Jenkins was the junior coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival held in Norman, Okla.
Prior to coming to USC, Jenkins was the varsity men’s head coach at his alma mater, UC Davis, from 1991-93. He led the Aggies to the 1993 Western Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship and won gold medals at the Men’s Cal Cup and San Diego Crew Classic. During the 1990-91 season, he also held the position of varsity women’s coach at UC Davis, which won the national championship in the Women’s Lightweight Eight. Prior to that, as the novice men’s coach for the Aggies, Jenkins led the squad to a gold medal-finish in the Novice Men’s Eight at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships in 1987.
As the executive director of the Newport Beach (Calif.) Aquatic Center from October of 1987 to June of 1990, Jenkins oversaw all operations at the 500-member rowing club.
Jenkins graduated from UC Davis in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in genetics. He attended Henry M. Gunn High in Palo Alto, Calif.
His brother, Stephan, is the lead singer for the popular rock band “Third Eye Blind.”
Born Jan. 4, 1963, he is single. His dog, Cooper, is a fixture around Heritage Hall.
