Aylward recently served as the assistant golf coach at the University of Delaware prior to his commitment to Villanova. He will be assisting in recruiting and aiming to improve overall team performance.
“I want to thank Coach Wilkes, Father Rob and Mark Jackson for this opportunity. I am very excited to join the Villanova Athletics Family.”
During his time in Newark, he helped the Blue Hens finish among the top five in eight of 10 tournaments on the season. Delaware captured the Cornell Invitational title in the fall.
The 2009-10 season was even more successful for Delaware, who captured four tournament titles - all in consecutive weeks - during the fall and compiled 11 Top 10 finishes.
Aylward helped lead the Blue Hens to another strong year in 2011-12, which featured six top-five finishes including defending the team title at the Navy Fall Classic.
In 2014-15 Aylward helped lead a young team to four second place team finishes. The Blue Hens featured four players who carded a round in the 60's and set a team single season record with a 75.66 team average round. Delaware also featured three players with an average round below 75 for the first time in school history.
Prior to coaching at Delaware, he served as a volunteer assistant coach at Marymount in 1997 and 1998 before becoming head coach at his alma mater in 1999. He left as the school's all-time winningest coach and his golfers set six school records for lowest match score by a team and an individual during his tenure.
Aylward looks to bring his strong experience of a winning culture to Villanova as he stated that “Villanova Golf has a deep tradition of excellence and I look forward to building on that success and after meeting the student athletes, I found their work ethic and positive attitudes impressive and promising. The future for Villanova Golf is bright.”
A native of Highland Falls, N.Y., Aylward, 41, earned a bachelor's degree in health and fitness management at NCAA Division III Marymount in 1996 following an outstanding four-year playing career.
He and his wife, Maribeth, reside in Newark with their two daughters, Emma and Annie, and son, Davis.
