John Huppi is the Head Coach of Tulane Men’s & Women’s Rowing and a proud Tulane alumnus. He has dedicated his career to building programs that achieve at the highest levels—on the water and in the classroom.
Since taking over as Head Coach in 2021, Huppi has focused on reestablishing Tulane as one of the top collegiate club rowing programs in the South. His crews have earned medals at major regattas across the country, including a silver medal in the Women’s Novice 8+ at the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) National Championships, victories at the Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association (SIRA) Championships, and wins at events such as the Head of the Hooch and the Jefferson Dad Vail Regatta.
Huppi brings over a decade of coaching experience across rowing, strength training, and athletic development. As former President of the New Orleans Rowing Club, he launched junior and masters programs that have produced athletes now rowing at Cambridge, Harvard, Penn, Dartmouth, and other top universities. Beyond rowing, his background as a strength and performance trainer includes coaching athletes in baseball, football, and soccer, with clients ranging from MLB and NFL players to members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.
As an athlete, Huppi is a former U.S. National Team and Swiss National Team rower, a World Rowing Beach Sprint medalist, and a Guinness World Record holder for rowing across the Arctic Ocean. He has competed at all levels of the sport—including flatwater, coastal, indoor, and ocean rowing, and competed domestically for clubs such as Tulane University, NewOrleans Rowing Club, Potomac Boat Club, Capital Rowing Club, and Ruderclub Schaffhausen.
In addition to his coaching, Huppi serves as a Professor of Practice and Associate Director of Real Estate at Tulane University’s School of Architecture & Built Environment, where he authored and launched the Bachelor of Science in Real Estate degree. His achievements in rowing and real estate have been featured by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, USA Today, World Rowing, and Tulane Alumni Stories.