Mike Homes graduated from Purdue University in 1996 with a degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He started rowing at Purdue, and competed for four years while serving as team historian and vice president during his junior and senior years, respectively.
While in graduate school, Homes started coaching for his alma mater. In 1998, he worked with the men’s varsity lightweight four, which won a silver medal at the Dad Vail Regatta.
After finishing his masters degree, Homes spent the summer coaching the at the Minneapolis Rowing Club, which won the team points championship at the Northwest International Rowing Association (NWIRA) Championship.
Homes then spent four years at Lafayette College in Easton, PA before moving to UC Santa Barbara to serve a the head women's rowing coach ('02-'18). UCSB became a strong competitor at the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) national championships, winning three varsity eight titles as well as five JV8 and two novice eight gold medals. Santa Barbara also won the ACRA women’s team title four years in a row from 2015-2018 and produced 39 ACRA All-Americans. Off the water, the team’s endowment grew from just over $20,000 to over $500,000, many athletes participated in community service projects with area K-12 students, and the team consistently maintained a GPA above 3.0.
