Mel Stewart entered the university in 1985, following his swimming coach, John Trembley, from Mercersburg Academy to UT as a member of the swimming team. Stewart took fifth at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul and, four years later, won two golds at the 1992 Barcelona Games—in the 200-meter butterfly and the 4×100-meter medley relay—and a bronze in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay.
Stewart held the world record in the 200-meter butterfly at a time of 1:55.69 from 1991 to 1995 (it was broken by Denis Pankratov of Russia) and won 14 national championships in that event, a US Swimming record.
After failing to qualify for the 1996 Olympic Team, Stewart began to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. He appeared in plays and movies and on television shows. He served as an ABC Sports field reporter, hosted ESPN’s American Outback, and appeared in several films. Stewart has written several films, including a new version of Lee Falk’s The Phantom (called The Ghost Who Walks).
In 2002 Stewart was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale.