The hottest topic of conversation this week at the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America was existential fear about the future of the sport in a rapidly changing collegiate athletics landscape.
But the conversation is not entirely pessimistic. Coaches are seeking NCAA championship reform in an effort to increase the relevance and visibility of swimming.
Ideas that have been floated include postponing competitions to early April, moving to early February, or making college swimming a fall-only sport, leaving the spring for long course and international competitions.
ESPN, which owns the broadcast and streaming rights to NCAA Championship games through at least the 2031-2032 seasonwill be a major factor in any decision to change the schedule.
Louisville head coach and CSCAA board member Arthur Albiero spoke about athletic directors telling the CSCAA that swimming has no visibility and that lack of visibility limits the importance of the sport to the athletic department.
This lack of visibility is largely due to competitions that overlap with the NCAA basketball tournaments. Historically, the dispute has centered on the men’s basketball tournament, but in recent years the women’s tournament along with Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers and the South Carolina women, among others, have significantly raised the profile of the women’s basketball tournament. (which had higher championship TV ratings than the men’s tournament this year).
An examination of the press seats at the NCAA swimming and diving championships over the years found that there were as many laptop screens tuned to basketball games as there were swimming statistics.
But conflict brings opportunity. The women’s basketball tournament, gymnastics championships, and softball and volleyball tournament show that there is growing interest across the country in sports outside of the traditional “big two” of college athletics , especially in women’s sports. If swimming can move outside of these overlapping windows, there is a chance to prove the sport’s relevance to a wider audience.
We don’t know if this will work. There are so many changes coming to college sports that the uncertainty about the future is endless. However, putting swimming in the best position to thrive in the new environment will be key to its future.
