Ken Bedford felt comfortable on the diving board and at Clarion University.

His resume bears the proof.

Between 1- and 3-meter diving, Bedford qualified for the NCAA Division II Championships eight times during his years at Clarion (1994-99), never placing worse than third.

The Butler High School graduate managed second place four times and won three national titles (1996-97, 1999).

Bedford’s accomplishments have earned him a spot in the Clarion University Hall of Fame. He will be inducted with four others May 4.

“This is huge for me, Clarion is really where my life started,” said Bedford. “I met my wife (Dawn) there. It made me the person I am today.”

Bedford was inducted into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.

His career as a diver began almost by accident while at Butler.

“I was planning on being a swimmer, but at the first practice my freshman year, I really wasn’t able to get into it,” said Bedford. “I looked down at the other end of the pool where the divers were and said, ‘That’s for me.’

“By the end of my freshman year, I realized I could do something with diving.”

Under coach Mick Haley, Bedford flourished as a high school diver. He earned a spot at the state meet three times and won two WPIAL crowns (1993-94).

“I didn’t have the most talent, but I made up for it with heart,” he added. “I put in a lot of hard work.”

Bedford’s college choice was not hard to make.

“I basically dove year-round and outside of high school, I used to come up to Clarion to dive,” he said. “I was familiar with it and I signed early, just after my junior year.”

Bedford made an immediate impact, placing second in both 1- and 3-meter dives as a freshman at the national championships in 1995.

His sophomore year would produce possibly his greatest athletic honor.

He won an NCAA title in 1-meter and took second in the 3-meter event. Afterwards, he was named NCAA Division II Men’s Diver of the Year.

“Getting that award might have been a bigger moment for me than actually winning the national title,” said Bedford, who added a 3-meter title in 1997 and, after being redshirted for a season, came back to claim the 3-meter crown in 1999.

“Near the end of my senior year, I tore my shoulder up pretty bad,” said Bedford. “I made it through the season, but my coach (Dave Hrovat) urged me to start thinking about becoming a coach.”

After graduating with a liberal arts degree in 1999, Bedford landed a coaching job at Hillsdale College in Michigan.

“After my first season, we lost the funding for the program,” he said. “I had family here in Butler and decided to move back.”

By the next winter sports season, Bedford was back at his alma mater coaching Butler divers. He’s been there ever since.

“To give back to the sport that has given me so much and to put Butler diving back on the map, it’s been great,” he said. “I tell all of my divers to work hard and have fun. If you’re not having fun, you’re in it for the wrong reason.

“I enjoyed every minute of my diving career, even the painful ones.”

Ken and Dawn Bedford live in Butler with their daughter Sophia.