When Budd Termin arrived in Buffalo in 1987, he had a clear vision how to transform UB's Division III men swimming and diving program into a formidable Division I contender. Before that UB would need to spend three seasons in Division II from 1989 to 1991. Through the Division II transition, brought rapid success as the team surged onto the national stage for the first time in progam history. Finishing 18th in 1989 the national standing continued to climb to 9th in 1990, and then an impressive 5th place national finish in 1991.
Wasting no time in pursuing the goal the Bulls captured a remarkable double victory in their debut season of Division I competition in 1991-92. They clinched both the East Coast Conference Championship and the ECAC Championship, earning Termin two Coach of the Year awards in a span of 10 days. Termin also holds the distinction of being the only coach in UB history to produce a swimmer who met the Division I "A" time standard competing at the NCAA Division I National Swimming Championships. At the 2000 Spring USA Swimming Nationals, the Bulls secured a 24th place finish among the countries best teams, setting a new record for UB's highest performance at an elite level.
Over a 20-year career, Termin mentored six athletes that received seven conference Swimmers of the Year awards, and guided his teams to seven conference championship titles. He has been honored with five conference Coach of the Year awards, as well as the American Swimming Coaches Association Outstanding Coaching Achievement Award. During his tenure, Termin coached every UB school record holder, and his swimmers have qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, the Canadian Olympic Trials, the NCAA Division I Swimming Championships and the USA Swimming National Championships. Termin's teams have not only achieved in the pool, but also in the classroom. They earned the NCAA All-Academic Team Award from 1992 to 2007. In the fall semester of 1993 and the spring semester of 1995, the Bulls achieved the highest team grade point average among all NCAA Division I men's swimming and diving teams. Since joining the Division I swimming ranks in 1991, UB has made it to the College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) list of top academic teams in all but four semesters. Termin's innovative coaching methods span from the pool to the academic world, where gaining international recognition as a researcher in collaboration with Dr. David Pendergast, professor of Physiology and Biophysics at UB. Termin's research on the biomechanics of swimming and the invention of a patented Led Pace Light Training System earned him the prestigious State University of New York Chancellors Award for Excellence in Professional Service in May of 2001. Termin was the first coach for any sport to receive this award by the State University of New York System, which honors superlative performance and outstanding achievement by professional service employees. Termin also utilized a 60-meter donut-shaped water course in the Center for Research in Special Environments (CRESE). At the time, it was one of two facilities like it in the world exclusively used to analyze swimming performance. Along with Dr. Pendergast, he measured the oxygen consumption (VO2) of swimmers, which indicates their metabolic horsepower. He then enhanced the swimmers VO2 through training in the donut, boosting their efficiency and power. Termin and Pendergast also examined swimming techniques related to strokes and pace control. In 2000, they received a US Patent for a pace-light "System and Method for Training a Swimmer" together with Engineer John Zaharkin. The system consists of an underwater pacing light system and a computer program that can pace up to 24 swimmers at a time and run training intervals for an entire team. Swimmers using the system can adjust their mechanics and instantly see if the changes affect their speed. A two-year study of freestyle swimmers showed that those using the system improved twice as much as those not using it. This Patent was originally registered in the U.S and in 26 countries.(Patent #US6086379A) Termin also collaborated with UB officials to install an ultraviolet equipment system in UB's Alumni Arena Natatorium, putting the University facility at the forefront of water treatment technology. The UV system was donated as a Gift-in-Kind to the University at Buffalo by Wedeco/Ideal Horizons, a Poultney, Vermont-based company that leads the field of ultraviolet technology, Environmental Resources Management of Pittsford, New York, the consultant for the project, and Final Filtration, Inc. of Amherst, New York. It was installed in the spring of 2000. UB's Alumni Arena Natatorium is the only pool in New York state with an ultraviolet system that cleans the pool better than chlorine without using chemicals. It also creates cleaner air for UB's swimmers to breathe in as they train and compete, thus enhancing their overall metabolic power and swimming performance.
Termin has made a lasting impact on the swimming world. He has received numerous invitations to speak at national and international conferences and symposiums, including the World Swimming Symposium held in Finland in 1998, where he was one of only three Americans invited to speak. Dr. Pendergast cites the published observation that Termin's swimmers times improve eight to 10 percent over the swimmers career while nationally, swimmers improve between one and three percent as evidence of Termin's success at applying his research findings to develop his swimmers abilities. Termin also left his mark on the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. In a collaboration with Dr. Pendergast and Dr. Joseph Mollendorf, professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, created a swimsuit designed to reduce drag. Swimsuit company TYR licensed the design and several international swimmers wore the suit at the 2004 Athen Olympic Games. They included 200 and 400 IM gold medalist Yana Klachkova (Ukraine), 200 backstroke gold medalist Kristy Coventry (Zimbabwe) and 400 IM silver medalist Erik Vendt (USA). He has also played a key role in shaping NCAA policy for conditioning activities. Termin advocated that NCAA Bylaw 17.1.5.2, which allows the use of equipment related to the sport for out of season conditioning, be included in conditioning activities in the water. Before August 2005, swimming programs could not require any conditioning in the pool outside of their playing season and were restricted to dry land activities only. Budd Termin started his college coaching career at the University of Kansas from 1985 to 1987. In 1986, the Jayhawk women clinched the Big Eight championship and finished second in 1985 and 1987. The Kansas men also came in second in the conference for all three years of Termin's tenure in Lawrence. He also acted as academic coordinator and co-founded the Academic Athletic Support Department for all of Kansas sports. Before that, Termin was the head coach of the West Shore YMCA program in his hometown of Harrisburg, PA from 1980 to 1985. He led the boy's teams to five state YMCA titles and the girls to five second-place titles. During his time at West Shore, he also coached two YMCA National Champions and one MVP of the National Championships.
Termin earned a Bachelors Degree in Elementary Education and is a proud graduate of Clarion University (1979). He was an 18-time NCAA Division II All-American in the 50 and 100 freestyles and held the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference record in both events. He also qualified for the 1976 and 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials and the World Team Trials in 1978. While at the University of Kansas, he obtained a Masters Degree in Sports Administration with a concentration in Academic Advisement in 1991. Currently retired from coaching and teaching, Budd and his wife Carrie live in Fajardo, Puerto Rico.