Columbia University Athletics

Andrew Hess has been the recruiting coordinator at Columbia University for the past 10 years, leading efforts that have helped bring championship caliber athletes to both the heavyweight and lightweight programs. He spent six seasons as Associate Head Coach of the Lightweight program before moving to help spearhead the development of the Heavyweight program. Since joining Columbia in 2016, he has helped guide crews to two IRA National Championships, an IRA team points trophy, an Eastern Sprints title, and two Jope Cups.

In addition to his work at Columbia, Hess has been part of the U.S. National Team system since 2020. He coached with the U19 Men’s National Team for two summers before joining the U23 Men’s National Team staff, where he has coached for the past three summers. In 2025, he guided the U.S. Men’s Pair to a fifth-place finish in the A Final at the U23 World Championships in St. Catharines, setting a U.S. record time of 6:22.17. His athletes have won US trials across multiple boat classes, and he has qualified every U23 men’s boat class, bringing crews to the World Championships in the LM1x, LM2x, M2-, M2x, and M1x. He has also coached the Men’s Single at the Senior World Championships.

Hess holds an MBA in Data Science, and a Master’s Degree in Neuroscience & Motor Learning from Columbia University and is currently publishing research on contextual interference in elite endurance athletes.