Swimming and diving coach Richard Quick, the most decorated coach ever to preside over an Auburn program, died Wednesday night after a six-month battle with cancer.

He was 66.

Quick won a total 13 NCAA championships during his career, which included two separate stints with the Tigers. He earned his first Auburn trophy in March when the men's team rallied from a final-day deficit to beat favored Texas.

"Richard's passing leaves a tremendous void -- not only in the swimming community and the Auburn family, but to those individuals who he touched the most," the team's co-head coach, Brett Hawke, said Wednesday night. "It would be in Richard's greatest honor to not dwell on his loss, but to celebrate his life and the characteristics he embodied, which were his perseverance, compassion and his humanity."

Quick was a newcomer on the college scene in 1979 when Auburn hired him to cultivate the Tigers' fledgling programs. During his three-year stay, the Tigers watched the men's and women's teams qualify for the NCAAs and finish in the top 10.He then won five consecutive women's titles at Texas before moving to Stanford in 1989, where he won another seven championships.

Quick returned to Auburn in 2007 after his successor and protg, David Marsh, left to work with an Olympic development program.

Sensing that his memory was fading at an unusual pace, Quick requested a brain scan in November. Doctors discovered an inoperable, cancerous tumor that soon began affecting him in profound ways.

He was moved to a skilled nursing center in Austin, Texas, late last week. According to the family's Web site, Quick died at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday with his family at his side.

"While he lost a valiant battle against a cruel disease, Richard was an inspiration to countless people who were touched by his steadfast faith and amazing courage in the face of tremendous adversity," Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs said.

Funeral arrangements in Austin are pending.