June 12, 2008

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara head men's and women's water polo coach, Wolf Wigo, will serve as a water polo analyst at the Beijing Games for NBC this summer. A three-time Olympian and former captain of the USA Water Polo Men's National Team, he will provide insight and his expertise during the NBC broadcasts of both the men's and women's water polo contests.

Wigo's first game as a commentator with NBC, a May 31 contest between the USA National Team and No. 1 ranked Croatia, will air this Saturday, June 15 on MSNBC at 9:00 a.m. PST. He will also travel to Stanford for a July 10 exhibition game between the USA women and Australia.

Wigo has served as the head men's water polo coach at UCSB for the past three seasons and was named the head coach of the women's program earlier this month. In his three seasons at UCSB, he has accumulated a 53-45 record, including a 40-28 record in the past two seasons. In the last two years, the Gauchos have ended the season ranked sixth nationally and he has guided three players to All-American honors.

As a player, Wigo spent his collegiate career at Stanford where he was a four-time All-American and led the Cardinal to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1993 and 1994. As a senior team captain, Wigo was named Stanford's Outstanding Male Senior Athlete and NCAA Player of the Year.

Wigo established himself as one of the world's premiere water polo players during his 11-year stint on the USA National Team. He joined the squad in 1993 and in 1996 he became the first player hailing east of the Rockies to make the US Olympic water polo team since 1956. Wigo competed in the 1996, 2000, and 2004 Olympic Games.

After scoring a team-leading 16 goals during the 2000 games in Sydney, Wigo was named to the five-player All-World First Team by NBC Sports and USA Water Polo, making him a finalist for World Water Polo Player of the Year. He completed his tenure with the national squad in 2004 by serving as Team USA's captain in Athens.

The Beijing Games will begin on August 8 with the water polo games running from August 10-24. All of the Olympic contests will also be broadcast live online. Check nbcolympics.com for more details.