2018 BYU Hall of Fame

An All-American student-athlete in and out of the pool, Aaron Russell earned multiple honors throughout his diving career at BYU from 2000-03 while helping the Cougars win the conference title every year.

After being named a high school All-American at nearby Timpview High, Russell excelled on platform and the 1-meter and 3-meter springboards at BYU. He immediately made a splash as a freshman, winning the Mountain West Conference title in the 1-meter springboard before earning All-America honors at the NCAA Championships.

Russell continued his excellence during his sophomore and junior seasons, earning six All-MWC First Team recognitions and a conference title in the 3-meter springboard and another All-America citation in the 1-meter springboard.

In 2002, after finishing seventh at the U.S. Diving Nationals, Russell won all three events at the MWC Championships as a senior and was named the conference’s Diver of the Year. He capped off his career with a fourth-place finish and first-team All-America honors in the 1-meter springboard and a 10th-place finish and second-team All-America in the 3-meter springboard at the NCAA Championships. 

Inspired in part by his mission to Portugal for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Russell earned his undergraduate degree in Portuguese and minor in management, doing so a year early. He excelled as a student, earning CoSIDA Academic All-American and College Swimming Coaches Association of America Scholar All-American in addition to being a four-time Academic All-MWC Team member.

Russell went on to earn his JD from the University of Texas in 2007 and passed the bar exam that same year. He went on to work for Anadarko Petroleum in The Woodlands, Texas, as a land negotiator and served in leadership capacities in the American Association of Professional Landmen and its local chapter. He has given of his time with organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America, Habitat for Humanity, and Mormon Helping Hands.

Russell joins his father, Keith, as the fourth father-son duo in the BYU Athletic Hall of Fame. A U.S. Olympian and NCAA champion among many other accolades, Keith was BYU’s dive coach for 23 years, including four coaching Aaron. Russell and his wife, Jamie, have two children, Emma and John.

Took 3M event at BYU Invitational - took 3M event at SLAP Holiday Invitational - won 1M event at MWC Championships - named MWC Diver of the Week, won 3M event at the Zone E NCAA Qualifying Meet - qualified for NCAA's on both the 1M and 3M - finished 14th on 1M at NCAA's to earn All-America honors - Academic All-Mountain West Conference honors - Academic All-American Team

Cougar Club Scholar Athlete - finished 13th on the 1M springboard at the NCAA Championships - earning second team All-America honors - MWC champion in the 3M event with a conference-record score of 560.0 while being runner-up on the 1M board and third in the platform event - won eight individual

Cougar Club Scholar Athlete...Academic All-MWC Team...won eight individual events during the regular season...won the 3-meter event at eh USC Invite...Won the platform event at the BYU Invite...placed third in the platform at the MWC Championships...First-team All-MWC in the 1-meter, 3-meter, and platform events...Finished 7th at the Senior National Championships...Second team All-American...Academic All-Mountain West Conference...Named MWC Diver of the Week Jan. 17

First-team All-American in the 1-M ... Placed 4th at the NCAA Championships in the 1-M ... Second-team All-American in the 3-M ... MWC Champion in the 1-M, 3-M and platform ... First-team All-MWC in the 1-M. 3-M and platform ... Winner of the Cougar Club's Ed Stein Award ... Went undefeated in dual meet competition in the 3-M ... Recorded 11 individual wins and 12 top-two finishes on the season