"Coach Pursley is a hit-or-miss head coach. His ability to motivate and recruit is excellent. His ability to form relationships with his team is minute if not non-existent. He is radically religious and conservative, and he works these concepts into his leadership style, making his atmosphere feel fairly unaccepting at times. Pursley ruined the athletic hopes of many by instituting unwavering practice ideations that worked for some but were detrimental for most. I clearly recall and athlete experiencing an injury that knocked them out of the sport post-season. That athlete worked hard to return to the pool and complete their career in the best way possible, but Pursley never offered a single word of encouragement to that athlete, one who had put forth immeasurable effort to build themself and the team. Swimming under Pursley was a catastrophic experience on me, mentally. Physically, anyone could make it. The psychological strain from Pursley will stick with me for the rest of my life. "

"Coach Pursley is a very old-school coach and a firm believer that there is no substitute for hard work. His decades of experience have allowed him to turn the program around in terms of training, academics, and recruiting; however, there are a few times every season where his experience conflicts with new training attitudes and athlete input."