Chris Bailey-Greene was officially introduced as The University of Toledo’s head women’s rowing coach at a news conference in the Nancy & James Lapp Creative Studio at Savage Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
Bailey-Greene is the program’s first women’s rowing head coach. Toledo recently added women’s rowing as its 17th varsity sports program.
Chris Bailey-Greene (center) is introduced as Toledo’s first head coach for Women’s Rowing at a Wednesday press conference. He is joined by Executive Associate Athletic Director Nicole Alderson (left) and Vice President and Director of Athletics Bryan B. Blair (right).
“It’s amazing to be back in Ohio, fulfilling my dreams,” said Bailey-Greene, a native of Cincinnati. “I never thought in my wildest imagination that I would ever be back in Ohio starting a rowing program. A pipe dream has turned into a real dream for me.”
Vice President and Director of Athletics Bryan B. Blair said that Bailey-Greene’s extensive experience at numerous prestigious institutions made him the ideal candidate to lead the Rockets’ inaugural women’s rowing program.
“As a native Ohioan and former Ivy League student-athlete, we could not have asked for a better fit to lead our women’s rowing program,” said Blair. “Chris has a broad range of coaching experiences in programs that have competed at the highest level of collegiate rowing and has a reputation for being a relentless recruiter. We look forward to him helping us build a first-class rowing program and are excited that he and his family are joining our #TeamToledo community.”
Bailey-Greene brings more than 13 years of coaching experience to Toledo. He most recently served as the associate head coach at Washington State University. He also served as an assistant coach at Yale, Oregon State and Gonzaga. Bailey-Greene competed as a student-athlete in varsity crew for four years at Brown University where his team won Ivy League titles in 2007 and 2008.
Bailey-Greene holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and a master of science degree in both clinical psychology and criminal justice. He is a Level III Certified U.S. Rowing coach. He lives in Sylvania with his wife, Emma, two boys, Forrest and Quinn, and dog, Gus.
The Rockets will begin competition in fall 2025. The Mid-American Conference added rowing as an official conference sport beginning in the 2025-26 academic year, with the league champion earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
“There is no better opportunity than building something from scratch,” Bailey-Greene said. “For a lot of people, that scares them. For me, I’ve always gone for the challenge. We have a great support structure for rowing in the Toledo community, with the LeBoutillier Boathouse in International Park in downtown Toledo as well as the support of Metroparks Toledo. For recruiting purposes, we have so many youth rowing teams around us. I can’t wait to keep building this program the right way.”
