Rich Karban enters his 19th season as the Head Diving Coach at Cleveland State University. Since taking over as the Head Diving Coach at Cleveland State in 2003, Rich Karban has had tremendous amounts of success. He is not only viewed as one of the top coaches in Cleveland State history, but also the entire Horizon League.

Karban has claimed six Horizon League Diving Coach of the Year honors, combining men’s and women’s awards. He has coached student-athletes that have won a combined eight Horizon League Diver of the Year accolades, and his men’s and women’s divers have won 16 conference titles, combining 1-meter and 3-meter events.

Karban coached Chris Dalman to top-20 finishes in both the 1-meter and 3-meter events at the 2007 NCAA Championships. The Horizon League all-time records in both the 1-meter and 3-meter men’s events are held by CSU divers coached by Karban.

In the 2020-21 season, Karban coach Matt Akers to the 1-meter Horizon League Champinoship with 321.20 points.

During the 2019-20 season, Karban helped Matt Akers to career highs on both boards, with his 388.20 mark representing the best in the league on 3-meter during the entire season. Akers was competing in the NCAA Zone Championships for the third time before the meet was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Karban also guided freshman Emma Kerro to a pair of top-five finishes at her debut Horizon League Championships in 2020. Kerro had previously broken the CSU school record in the 3-meter event at the Magnus Cup.

At the 2019 NCAA Zone C Diving Championships, Karban helped Akers qualify for the final in the 1-meter event. Akers’ 298.65 prelims score was the highest by any athlete from outside a Power Five conference at the Zones meet.

During the early 1980's, Karban had a very successful diving career at Cleveland State. In 2000, he became just the second diver and the fourth member of the swimming and diving team to be voted into the Cleveland State Athletics Hall of Fame.

Karban also became the first CSU diver and just the second swimming and diving team member to win an Eastern Intercollegiate Championship, claiming the three-meter title in 1984. During each of his four seasons on the team, he also helped the Vikings to a team title at the Penn-Ohio Championships. His career culminated in 1984 after being named the team's most outstanding athlete and qualifying for zones.

Karban spent three years with CSU from 1984-1987 before leaving to work with Olympic diving coach Ron O'Brien. He spent the first two seasons as an assistant and was the head diving coach for the Vikings for the 1986-87 season. Karban then coached the diving team at Eastern Michigan from 1989-94, earning Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year honor in 1992. He also coached his U.S. Diving Junior Olympic Club to a fifth-place finish at the national championships in 1990.

Karban and his wife, Betsy, were married in 1988 and have two children, Rich and Elyssa.