HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -- USA Water Polo, as part of its Annual Olympic Development Program dinner, announced Saturday night that it has established the Doc Hunkler Distinguished Women's Coaching Award to be presented annually to the top scholastic coach in the nation.

The award, named in honor of former Slippery Rock University water polo coach Richard "Doc" Hunkler, was one of 14 awards established by USA Water Polo to honor people who have made an extraordinary
contribution to the sport, according to a USA Water Polo press release.

Hunkler earned three "National Collegiate Coach of the Year" awards during his Rock coaching career.

He "was a visionary for women's water polo who fought to have a true national women's collegiate championship and helped guide [The Rock] to unprecedented heights spanning three decades, including 10 top-three finishes and a national women's collegiate championship in 1995," the press release stated. "Hunkler also holds the distinction as the only coach to win both a Men's and Women's Olympic Festival Gold Medal."

Hunkler initiated water polo in 1972 at SRU as a club sport. In 1991, the program achieved varsity status and went on to win the Eastern Championship and finish seventh at the NCAA Championships, with a record of 26-7. Slippery Rock also finished as Eastern Championships runner-up twice.

His 1995 Rock women's team was the first and is the only eastern team to win a National Collegiate Championship. Under Hunkler’s leadership, the Slippery Rock women also posted three national third-place finishes from 1990 to 1992.

Doc ended his career with a 102-42 record with the men’s team over seven varsity seasons and an incredible 142-11 record with the women’s team over six varsity seasons.

Hunkler also held posts on the national level. He was an assistant for the 1982-83 national women's team which finished second at the World Cup Championships. As a coach at the U.S. Olympic Festival, he became the only person to ever direct both a men's and women's squad in water polo to the gold medal. Again, those teams were the first from the east to capture the gold.

He was also instrumental in the administration of the Mid Atlantic Conference, now known as the Collegiate Water Polo Association, in its early years. In the 1970’s, he served six years as President and several more as Secretary.

Hunkler was inducted into the CWPA Hall of Fame in 2002.