The College Swimming League (CSL) will have just under $1 million of funding being used to go towards travel, accommodations, and as prize money for its first season that will begin this September.
The CSL is following a model widely used by NCAA college basketball tournaments such as the Players Era in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Maui Invitational in Maui, Hawaii where travel expenses are covered by the host organization, in this case the CSL. Between travel, accommodations, and prize money, CSL COO Kyle Sockwell tells SwimSwam that the total number sits just under $1 million for the first season.
Sockwell also has stated that locations for the first season should begin to be announced in about two weeks.
Earlier this month, it was announced that the regular season of the CSL will be available on ESPN+ with the postseason available on ESPNU. The first three matches have announced the four teams that will be participating while the rest of the regular season team matchups will continue to be announced over the coming weeks.
All of the meets will take place on a Thursday or Friday, which Sockwell said was designed to avoid overlap with college football, which is primarily hosted on Saturdays.
| Match | Date | Where to Watch | Teams |
| Match 1 | Thursday, September 24 | ESPN+ |
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, Louisville
|
| Match 2 | Friday, September 25 | ESPN+ |
NC State, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama
|
| Match 3 | Friday, October 2 | ESPN+ |
Stanford, Cal, Ohio State, Auburn
|
| Match 4 | Friday, October 9 | ESPN+ | |
| Match 5 | Friday, October 16 | ESPN+ | |
| Match 6 | Friday, October 23 | ESPN+ | |
| Match 7 (Wild Card) | Thursday, November 7 | ESPNU | |
| Match 8 (Championship) | Friday, November 8 | ESPNU |
Now that there is significant funds on the line, there needs to be a more transparency on how these teams came to be selected, especially as you get down into lower ranked programs.
In a sport that is clawing to find new and creative avenues to resources, the additional stream of money, or even the prospect of it, is a massive tip in the scales for some of these schools for recruiting and social media.
There might be well-intentioned, internal reasons why some of the top schools are not participating. But the list gets fuzzier towards the bottom. There are clearly teams that easily belong in this mix as well, but with so much on the line were… Read more »
No breakout on travel expenses, overhead expense (Kyle) vs prize money to team or individual?
Also why is OSU there twice?
I imagine the teams will get a travel stipend to support their current budgets, not necessarily a complete cover of all travel costs which admittedly would cost a whole lot. These teams have budgets for meets and any support they receive to offset is a big win so don’t expect big payouts for things as it’s mainly a supportive structure.
I’m assuming OSU is twice early in the season because they have non-CSL meets scheduled for the rest of October. That’s just my guess.
To say I’m impressed is an understatement! Kudos to Kyle and the rest of the group because I was fairly pessimistic when it was first announced but what they have cobbled together in just a short while is truly impressive!
I’m curious as to how they were fundraising? Will Kyle break down who their funding comes from? I’m genuinely interested because that is some stout work
I’m happy they up front with what’s going on so that people can have the right expectations.