Since its varsity inception in 1997, the Michigan rowing team has fostered hundreds of collegiate rowing careers as well as team wide results on the leaderboard. And while the program has fostered various personalities, gained immense success and suffered frustrating defeats, one person has remained constant — head coach Mark Rothstein.
A Michigan alum and Ann Arbor native himself, Rothstein has been a lifelong supporter of the Wolverines. At Michigan, he rowed on the men’s crew team while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in physics and continued to work as a club rowing coach after graduating.
So when the University of Michigan announced that it was adding a women’s varsity rowing team, it didn’t have to look far for the perfect coach.
“In 1995, the athletic department announced that they were going to add a women’s sport,” Rothstein told The Michigan Daily. “So they chose rowing as the sport to elevate and I was the club coach at the time. … I got pretty lucky. I was kind of in the right place at the right time and they hired me.”
The decision proved successful for both Rothstein and the Wolverines, as he has led the program to nine Big Ten titles and numerous top-five NCAA finishes. Under his instruction, the program has also produced a multitude of Olympians and All-Americans, as well as many former athletes who have seen major successes in their professional endeavors outside of the boathouse.
In Rothstein’s early seasons, the rowing team saw quick success, with a fifth-place overall finish in its second year and a Big Ten championship title two years later.
“Our goal is not necessarily to produce Olympians, although we’ve produced a lot from our program, but it’s really to produce Olympic-caliber people,” Rothstein said. “Not everyone wants to pursue that, but I think everyone can be really impactful in their life post-Michigan and that’s the goal.”
But Rothstein’s impact extends far beyond the many trophies and accolades he’s brought to the program. The rowers Rothstein have coached often cite him as ‘the best’ and reflect fondly on their experiences with him, largely due to the individual attention he provides each member of his team. Rothstein’s mentorship has helped student-athletes in their lives beyond the boat. There is a common sentiment among Rothstein’s rowers — no matter what these athletes pursue after college, they all laud Rothstein for his role in shaping their well-rounded abilities.
“Mark is a really great coach because he can adapt his coaching style to meet different people’s needs,” former volunteer assistant coach Felice Mueller told The Daily. “He could be more of a hard driver with people who need it, he had an adaptable coaching style, which really speaks to his strength and time on the field and being able to understand the nuances between athletes.”
Rothstein’s drive to help his athletes develop is a testament to his overall strength as a coach. Rather than just focusing on the strength of the team as a whole, he cares about individual athletes and motivates them to be their best selves — both in and outside the boat — a belief that has brought him success in his many years of coaching.
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The rowing team is the largest women’s varsity sport at Michigan, with 58 athletes on its roster in the 2024-25 season and amassing as many as 85 rowers in previous seasons. Despite the size of the team, Rothstein continues to focus on each individual rower, always striving to grow and improve the program.
“I really try to evaluate myself as a coach and our program and what we’re doing well, what I’m doing well and when I’m not doing well,” Rothstein said. “I just try to stay in a mindset of perpetually getting better. Every year I learn something new and every year is different. Every team is different and I think it’s just really fun to constantly learn and grow.”
Rothstein’s equal focus on himself as a coach, and the team as a whole, are hallmarks of a dedicated leader. He radiates passion and positivity through difficult times, highlighting his ability to be not just a coach, but a role model for those on his team.
While coaching is no easy task, Rothstein makes it look effortless. Most rowers who look up to him don’t realize how difficult it is to maintain a steady team until they have to step into leadership roles themselves.
“I don’t think that I fully understood what Mark has to deal with until my senior year,” former rower Caroline Hendershot told The Daily. “We, the senior class, really took on more of a leadership role because there are so many different personalities, so many different learning styles. … There are so many people, and being able to connect with all of them, and lead all of them and find that underlying purpose with all of them is one of the most amazing things that (Rothstein) is able to do year after year.”
Rothstein’s ability to foster both a competitive team anda cohesive camaraderie speaks to his skills as a coach. His work shows that teams perform their best when every member is valued.
“There’s four things that we talk about with the team, I guess you can call them values or concepts that we focus on,” Rothstein said. “It’s kind of summarized by ‘do it, own it, give it, appreciate it.’ We want people to understand that if you’re on this team, it’s really hard.”
The four concepts the team continues to follow serve as the foundation for Rothstein’s coaching style. They go hand in hand with his determination to see every rower for their individual strengths, creating a hardworking dynamic within the team. While the competitive nature of rowing requires heavy responsibility and work, the difficulties are eased when every member of the team shares the same values.
Mark Rothstein’s coaching style emphasizes that a rowing team is nothing without contributions from each and every member. His dedication to the needs and strengths of each individual and commitment to a multifaceted coaching approach show that he goes above and beyond to serve as an ideal coach. And it’s these values and traditions that have led Rothstein to succeed over his nearly 30 years at the helm, from the program’s inception to today.
