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 silver medals in the Women’s Novice 8+ and Men’s Novice 4+ at the American Collegiate Rowing Association (ACRA) National Championships, medals and 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 who have gone on to row 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 World Record holder for rowing across the Arctic Ocean. His record-setting Arctic expedition was documented in the Emmy-nominated NFL Films production NFL Films Presents: Arctic Challenge. Huppi has competed across nearly every discipline of the sport—including flatwater, coastal, indoor, and ocean rowing—and has represented clubs including Tulane University, New Orleans 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, adventure, and real estate have been featured by Sports Illustrated, ESPN, USA Today, World Rowing, NFL Films, and Tulane Alumni Stories.