Amarillo (PSHOF)—Steve McFarland, a 1969 graduate of Alamo Catholic High School (now Holy Cross Catholic Academy) was inducted as the 194th member of the Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame during a June 12 ceremony at the Amarillo Civic Center.
McFarland began tumbling and performing on the trampoline as a young boy at the Maverick Club and Nard’s Gymnastics in Amarillo. He also began to spend part of his summers learning the sport of diving at Dick’s Swim Gym in Phoenix.
After his graduation from Alamo, McFarland went to the University of Texas. When the NCAA dropped the sport of trampoline, he transferred to the University of Miami to focus on diving. Among McFarland’s highlights were two AAU national championships in platform diving in 1973 and 1974 and two bronze medals at the World University Games in 1974. He was also sixth in the 1976 U.S. Olympic Trials.
After completing college, McFarland soon began coaching at the University of Miami and was head coach of the Hurricanes from 1978-1984 where he coached four All-Americans. Among his divers were 1976 Olympic gold medalist Phil Boggs and four-time Olympic gold medalist Greg Louganis, considered the greatest diver in U.S. history.
McFarland became a recognizable television voice in diving. He worked for 17 years for various networks, highlighted by coverage of the 1988 and 1992 Olympics for NBC.
McFarland transitioned to a diving judge in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics. He has been vice-president and president of USA Diving, and last year retired as CEO and chairman of Duraflex International Corp. He and his wife Beth have two grown sons and live in Lake St. Louis, Mo.