Ex-Kentucky swim coach Lars Jorgensen accused of rape, sexual assault in lawsuit

LEXINGTON — Two former members of the Kentucky swimming and diving team filed a suit Friday in U.S. District Court.

The suit, which names former coach Lars Jorgensen, former coach Gary Conelly, athletics director Mitch Barnhart and the university itself, alleges there was a "toxic, sexually hostile environment" within the swim program during Jorgensen's tenure. The suit further claims the university allowed Jorgensen "to prey on, sexually harass, and commit horrific sexual assaults and violent rapes against young female coaches and collegiate athletes who were reliant on him."

The Athletic was the first to report the allegations and lawsuit in a story that published Friday. The story detailed allegations of misconduct against Jorgensen, who resigned last year after a 10-season tenure with the swimming and diving program.

According to The Athletic's article, Kentucky "was made aware or should have been aware of an allegation of misconduct by Jorgensen" at least three times between 2012 (when he was with the program as an assistant) and 2019:

• In 2012, former Toledo swimming assistant coach Mark Howard sent emails to Conelly, then Kentucky’s head swim coach, as well as to Barnhart. In both emails, Howard shared that a former female swimmer said she was involved in a sexual relationship with Jorgensen at Toledo. (Jorgensen was Toledo's head coach from 2004 to 2010.)

• In 2014, another Toledo coach, this time one from the softball program, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the university. In her suit, she brought up the allegation about Jorgensen's relationship with a former swimmer at the school.

• And in 2019, two swim coaches at San Jose State reported allegations to the Title IX officer at their school centered on rumors they had heard about potential misconduct by Jorgensen at Kentucky, where he had been named head coach in 2013 following Conelly's retirement. According to The Athletic, after the San Jose State officer contacted Kentucky, the UK office that handles Title IX complaints filed a report and marked it "not urgent." Jorgensen denied any misconduct, while the swim staffer he allegedly sexually assaulted refused to speak to a UK official assigned to the complaint. The case was then considered “closed” after a week.

Per The Athletic's story, there are numerous allegations against Jorgensen during his time in Lexington.

It includes: two former swimmers accusing him of rape following team Christmas parties held at his home, also allegedly raping one of the aforementioned swimmers in hotels during team trips; he sent a member of the team inappropriate photos and videos of himself that were sexual in nature; he sent suggestive messages to swimmers on social media; he told his swimmers stories of his personal sexual exploits, mentioned women he wanted to have sex with and also asked team members about their own sexual experiences, their breast size and their menstrual cycles.

In addition to those allegations, The Athletic also said Jorgensen committed an NCAA violation by implementing punishment workouts. The Athletic also wrote Jorgensen "made degrading comments and body-shamed swimmers … withheld food from athletes after poor performances and assigned extra workouts to swimmers whose body fat percentage exceeded a limit he determined."

He denied any wrongdoing to The Athletic earlier this week.

"None of that is true, so I don’t really have much further comment," he told the site in a phone interview Wednesday. "I've always tried to lead in a positive manner and do what's best for each individual and the team overall."

When reached for comment by The Courier Journal on Saturday, UK spokesperson Jay Blanton released a statement, via email, on behalf of the university.

"Mr. Jorgensen is no longer an employee of the University of Kentucky," Blanton wrote. "We do not, as a matter of policy, discuss specific personnel issues."

Blanton did provide, however, four points of explanation:

1. We take concerns that are raised about the conduct of an employee or potential employee very seriously. We review any such concerns before a hire is made or an employee is retained.

2. When issues between employees (or any members of our community) involve concerns over allegations of harassment or misconduct it is the policy and expectation of the institution that such activity be immediately reported to the appropriate officials for review, such as our Office for Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity (IEEO).

3. Our Athletics Department takes those issues and those policies very seriously as the welfare and well-being of all of our employees and students is a priority.

4. Finally, in such cases, a victim or complainant is reached out to a number of times during the course of a review. It is entirely up to the victim or complainant to decide whether they want to participate in such a review or not. Part of ensuring the well-being of our people is giving them the opportunity to decide whether they want to participate in an investigation of this kind.

Jorgensen's resignation last year came while he was away from the program amid an investigation into possible NCAA compliance violations.

Jorgensen guided the men's and women's swim and dive programs at Kentucky for a decade. He led the women's team to its first SEC title in 2021. In February 2023, then-freshman Levi Sandidge earned gold in the 1,650-yard freestyle at the conference championships, becoming the first Wildcat to win the event at the league meet.

Prior to arriving in Lexington, Jorgensen served as an assistant coach (2010-11) and interim head coach (2011-12) at his alma mater, Tennessee.

During his time as Toledo's head coach (2004-10), Jorgensen twice won the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year award. In his final season with the Rockets, they won the MAC championship. Jorgensen also had a four-year stint as an assistant at LSU before taking over Toledo's program.

As a swimmer, Jorgensen was part of the U.S. team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and won six USA National Championship titles. He set Tennessee's record in the 1,000 free (9:05.38 in 1992), a mark that stood until 2015.

Following Jorgensen's resignation, UK hired Bret Lundgaard — the Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2022-23 at Princeton, where he had worked since 2017-18 — as the program's new coach.

Lundgaard wrapped up his first season with the women's and men's teams last month. Bridget Engel and Grace Frericks qualified for the NCAA Championships for the women's team. Sandidge, Carson Hick and Ryan Merani competed at nationals for the men's squad.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Lars Jorgensen, former Kentucky swim coach, accused of rape in lawsuit