The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) has quickly taken action after the 2026 NCAA Championships.
After gathering feedback from coaches and stakeholders, the organization created a Division I NCAA Championship Working Group that has met twice (April 2, April 20) and put together a list of recommendations for both the 2027 NCAA Championships and the future (2028 and beyond).
The CSCAA said feedback is currently being collected from Power 4 coaches and Division I members, and the recommendations will also be shared with members of the NCAA and national governing bodies before the Working Group reconvenes next week to update the recommendations based on the feedback received.
2027 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP RECOMMENDATIONS
Restoring ‘B’ Finals
The number one thing coaches, swimmers and fans have been calling for since the NCAA Championships got underway last month was a return of the ‘B’ finals, and it looks like it will happen.
The Working Group is recommending that the consolation finals take place prior to the finals session and “be conducted efficiently and provide a meaningful experience that allows for high performance.”
Altering the Diving Format Within The Championship
As many respondents called for in the Google Form survey SwimSwam sent out to its readers, the diving format will be tweaked during the finals sessions at NCAAs.
The Working Group recommends having the first three rounds of diving run before the individual swimming events in the evening session, allowing the individual swimming races to run without interruption. They will be followed by the final round of diving, and then the fastest two heats of relays to close out the session.
Fastest Two Heats of Relays To Swim At Night
The Working Group recommends that the two fastest heats (top 16 seeded relays) swim during the evening session, rather than just the single fastest seeded heat, which we saw this past season.
Respondents were split on what to do with relays in the SwimSwam survey, but one thing nearly everyone agreed on was having more than just the fastest heat swim at night. Some called for having them all swim at night, some for returning to the prelims/finals format we saw prior to 2021, and though the relays seeded outside the top 16 will still have to swim in the prelim session, this is a positive step. It will also further incentivize teams to post quick relay times during the season in order to earn a top-16 seed.
Combine Wednesday into one finals session
Wednesday evening will return to a single finals session after we saw a prelim session for the first time this past season.
This means we’ll see all of the heats of the 1650 free, along with all of the 200 medley and 800 free relay heats, in a single session.
Revise Conference Qualifier Standards, Allow Bumped Out Swimmers In
The Working Group is recommending a revision of the NCAA Championship qualifying standards so that “no more than 10% of invited athletes enter through the conference qualifier pathway.”
The swimmers who lost a qualifying slot because of the new conference qualifier process will regain access to the NCAA Championships with institutional funding.
In the survey SwimSwam sent out, several respondents called for quicker time standards to lower the number of automatic qualifiers, and many people also wanted to see the swimmers who lost NCAA spots because of the new process to be allowed to compete, and this satisfies both.
Align with ESPN’s linear television requirements
The Working Group recommends that the CSCAA secure ESPN linear coverage for the 2027 NCAA Championships and beyond.
“Work with the NCAA, ESPN, and the host site to schedule the championships on the necessary and most advantageous dates, as determined by ESPN,” the recommendations said.
Review of Order of Events & Format
The Working Group didn’t delve into specifics regarding event order changes, but said: “Review the current order of events and, if needed, modify to support high performance while also meeting broadcast guidelines for approval.”
Invest in Storytelling and Production Strategy
The Working Group is calling for a revamped product on television of the NCAA Championships, using “storytelling to position swimming and diving as a stronger television product.”
“Prioritize athlete, coach, and team storylines; improve research for on-air talent; incorporate in-competition interviews; and engage institutions in season-long championship promotion,” the recommendations said.
SAMPLE 2027 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP DAY:
- 10:00 a.m. – Prelim Swimming: Ind. Swim Events & Relays seeded 17th or higher
- 1:00 p.m – Prelim Diving
- Finals: Consolation Finals *start time determined by broadcast
- Diving Finals Rounds 1-3
- Individual Swimming Events
- Diving Finals Rounds 4-6
- Relay (Heat 2, Heat 1)
PLANS FOR 2028 AND BEYOND: COMBINED CHAMPIONSHIP
“The future of Division I swimming and diving must be shaped by more than format changes alone,” the Working Group said. “It requires a broader strategy to drive fiscal efficiency, elevate the championship experience for student-athletes, coaches, and fans, and position the sport for sustained success.”
The Working Group said it will develop a plan for a combined men’s and women’s championship format that “meets high performance demands and current media realities for approval by the NCAA Swimming & Diving Oversight Committee. ”
“With input from key stakeholder groups, this effort will strengthen the national championship as a premier stage for developing Team USA athletes and coaches while advancing the sport’s global competitive standing.”
In the SwimSwam survey, 51.3% of respondents supported a combined championship format with men and women competing at the same location on the same dates, while 32.2% disagreed (and the rest were neutral).
THE WORKING GROUP
The NCAA Championship Division I Working Group was comprised of nine Division I head coaches, eight from Power 4 programs along with one from the Ivy League.
It’s worth noting that, when the initial championship changes were made last year, several concerns were raised that the decision-making group was disproportionately made up of mid-major representatives. That isn’t the case this go around.
In addition to the group members listed below, Greg Meehan, current USA Swimming National Team Director and former Stanford women’s head coach, joined the call on April 20.
CSCAA Division I NCAA Championship Working Group:
- Arthur Albiero, University of Louisville
- Herbie Behm, Arizona State University
- Matt Crispino, Princeton University
- Todd DeSorbo, University of Virginia
- Dave Durden, University of California, Berkeley
- Braden Holloway, North Carolina State University
- Matt Kredich, University of Tennessee
- Ray Looze, Indiana University
- Rachel Stratton-Mills, Northwestern University
It’s about damn time they recognize distance finals as such. It’s a great race to watch. They can’t even blow the darn sparklers at the earlier heats and give these swimmers what they deserve.
Unmentioned, but otherwise huge ….. broadcast live on a common, public channel (or even a normal bundled cable network if the networks won’t do it), vice a premium/paid unique channel like ESPN+. No, people will not buy that just to watch swimming.
For the future …. move the championships earlier to avoid March Madness.
Is this the same group that made the changes earlier? I seem to recall that group not having a lot of championship level coaches while this one seems stacked with them.
I still think diving should maybe be the first hour of the broadcast, sort of like when NBC did diving trials for an hour before or after swimming trials. I realize that those are two different events at that point, but I don’t see why it can’t work for NCAA champs. I’d totally be into watching the diving event, and I think many at the meet would also. What sucks is when you’re waiting on results and don’t know how long diving is going to go. And I… Read more »
No it is not the same group
The number one thing that could easily be done to greatly improve media coverage and casual fan interest is to move the Championship Meets to the last two weeks in February – going up against meaningless conference bball games would be MUCH better than fighting the Tournament. It would also give you three more weeks of ling course season.
How about April? That would also work. Better for training as well
Why is April better for training? A large number of best tones come from the Nov/Dec meets. Extra yards doesn’t translate to faster swims. And for the small number that need LCM training an earlier meet would be better.
More time training (not more yards swam) is definitely correlated with better performances.
I’m still so confused why they’re against prelims finals for the 4 relays again. Earn your spot to race at night like you would for an individual event.
Nah. Most top school use backups for relays. Might as well one and done it.
it gives a huge advantage to certain teams if prelim subs are allowed. If they aren’t allowed it just makes for a slower meet.
this isn’t a 9 day program
Agreed. Plus it adds a level of controlled unpredictability that makes the result more entertaining and understandable to viewers.
If were going to have B finals be “conducted efficiently and provide a meaningful experience that allows for high performance.”..then have them leading into the A finals for the momentum. That’s the great thing about having them there. TV will cut away for them anyway but for all of us there at the meet and most importantly, for the teams, put them back where you found them.
But they want an entire new session. So much for recovery
And exactly how many swimmers are doing two individual events in a day at that level?
I’ve said this MANY TIMES, but I’ll say it again:
If these guys want to improve the VIEWING EXPERIENCE, then use the MULTI-COLORED LANE LINES that the rest of the world uses for important meets (Olympics, Worlds, etc.).
These GREATLY AID in recognizing which swimmer is in which lane. Having seven identically colored lanes does not.
This ^^^^
So looking at the sample championship day above, B finals would have to be at the pool earlier for their events. So this cuts down on their recovery window. That seems fair. Cough, cough.
Well everyone on the B final has to show up at the same time. So fair for all of them.