Honors & Awards

  • CSCAA All-American (200 Fly, 2020)
  • NCAA Championships Qualifier (200 Fly, 400 IM, 2020)
  • Nebraska School Record (200 Fly, 1:55.78, 2020)
  • Sixth-Place Finish, Big Ten Championships (200 Fly, 2020)
  • Four Letters (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
  • CSCAA Scholastic All-American (First Team, 2020; HM, 2021)
  • Academic All-Big Ten (2019, 2021)
  • Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll (Fall 2018, 2020; Spring 2020, 2021)
  • Tom Osborne Citizenship Team (2018, 2019)

2020-21 (Senior)
A CSCAA All-American in the 200 butterfly for the Huskers as a junior in 2019-20, Madison Coughlen continued to contribute for Nebraska as a senior. Coughlen took 19th in the 400 IM (4:17.07) at the 2021 Big Ten Swimming Championships in Minneapolis, before adding a 22nd-place finish in the 200 butterfly (2:00.09) at the conference meet. She scored nine points for the Big Red with those swims to help Nebraska to its best ever Big Ten finish. She also competed in the 200 IM (2:04.21) at the league meet.

During an abbreviated regular season, Coughlen earned her lone top-five finish with her fifth-place performance in the 400 IM on Senior Day against Illinois (Jan. 23).

2019-20 (Junior)
Coughlen unleashed a breakout junior season for the Huskers in 2020. She earned CSCAA All-America honors after qualifying for the NCAA Championships with a school-record 200 butterfly (1:55.78) to finish sixth at the Big Ten Championships. She added the second-fastest 400 IM in school history (4:13.02) to finish 11th in the event at the Big Ten meet. She was scheduled to compete in both events at the 2020 NCAA Championships in Athens, Ga., but the national meet was canceled because of the coronavirus outbreak in mid-March. In addition to her individual efforts, Coughlen also competed for the Huskers in the 800 free relay and the 400 medley relay at the Big Ten Championships. During the course of the season, Coughlen produced 18 top-five finishes, including nine victories. She added a career-best 54.80 in the 100 fly to capture a victory in a Big Ten dual at Rutgers on Feb. 1. In the classroom, Coughlen was a first-team CSCAA Scholar All-American in 2020.

2018-19 (sophomore)
Coughlen earned eight top-five finishes during a strong second season with the Huskers, including a runner-up performance and career-best time (4:17.51) in the 400 IM at the Hawkeye Invite. At the same meet, she set a then-career best in the 100 fly (55.94) and finished third in the 200 fly. Coughlen continued to improve throughout the season and competed at the Big Ten Championships, where she finished 11th in the 200 fly with a then-career-best time (1:57.69), 30th in the 400 IM, and 46th in the 200 IM. Outside the pool, Coughlen earned Academic All-Big Ten honors and a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team for the second time.

2017-18 (Freshman)
Coughlen made a solid first impression with the Huskers, closing her freshman campaign with seven top-five performances, including a runner-up finish. A strong butterfly swimmer, Coughlen racked up five of her top-five finishes in the 200-yard butterfly. She notched three career bests, two of those coming at the Mizzou Invite. Coughlen set then-personal records of 2:01.08 in the 200-yard butterfly (Big Ten Championships), 56.52 in the 100-yard butterfly (Mizzou Invite), and 2:02.83 in the 200-yard IM (Mizzou Invite). At the 2018 Big Ten Championships, Coughlen notched her top individual finish (25th) in the 400 IM (4:19.97), which was just off her collegiate best at the time, set previously in the event at the Mizzou Invite. She also finished 52nd at the Big Ten meet in the 200 IM. Coughlen also started strong in the community, earning a spot on the 2018 Tom Osborne Citizenship Team.

Previous
Coughlen set two school records at Fort Mill (S.C.) High School while swimming for Coach Cindy Van Buskirk. An eight-time regional champion, Coughlen produced two state runner-up finishes. The four-time Junior National qualifier helped the Texas Ford Aquatics to a third-place finish in the short course sectionals. The three-time Scholastic All-American was a sectional, national and long course qualifier. Dominant in the pool as well as the classroom, Coughlen was named Regional All-American for four consecutive years and was an all-state selection. She was also an athlete of the week and her team’s most valuable swimmer twice. Coughlen was a member of the Beta Club.

Personal 
The daughter of Lisa and Mike Coughlen, Madison was born June 26, 1999, in Frisco, Texas. Madison has one sister, Morgan. Madison is a finance major who earned her bachelor's degree from Nebraska in May of 2021. She was a first-team CSCAA Scholar All-American in 2020 and added honorable-mention accolades in 2021. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection (2019, 2021), she was also a four-time member of the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll. She was a member of the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2018 and 2019. She chose Nebraska over Kentucky, West Virginia, Florida State and Georgia Tech.

Career-Best Times

Event Time Meet (Date)
100 Fly 54.80 Rutgers (2020)
200 Fly 1:55.78 Big Ten Championships (2020)
200 IM 2:02.83 Mizzou Invitational (2017)
400 IM 4:13.02 Big Ten Championships (2020)