College sports have been rapidly on the rise and even swimming is not an exception as numerous dual meets have achieved over 1,000 viewers this season.
Recently, college swimmers have shown up to basketball games and gotten great attention from media. Earlier this week, Holy Cross men’s swimming and diving showed up at the Holy Cross vs Boston University basketball game on Monday night. Although unsuccessful in distracting the free throws, the team did go viral. What may have been a larger impact was the energy brought into the crowd.
Today, the Oakland men’s swimming and diving teams showed up at the Oakland vs Cleveland State basketball game. But why is this important?
If swimming and diving continues to desire growth, an easy way to do so is to make your sport known on campus. What better way to make a sport known than by showing up at another sport’s game, showing that they can have some fun? In addition, showing up for other sports might make other sports want to reciprocate the support. Athletes support athletes, right?
The Oakland men took on haircuts while in their practice drag suits. See their distraction below. What will be next as a free throw distraction?
The Georgia Tech Swim and Dive teams regularly show up in swim suits at women’s volleyball matches, often with V-O-L-L-E-Y-B-A-L-L painted on their chests. I love inter disciplines encouraging each other!
Reminds me of Brad Kline’s antics at UNC basketball games back in the day. His buddy Matt Baldwin filled a swim cap full of beer and then dropped it onto his head while Cherokee Parks was shooting a free throw for Duke. Good times!
The Southern Illinois Salukis men’s and women’s swim and dive teams have been going to both basketball and volleyball games clad in their parkas and suits for years. Showing their support their fellow athletes.
This is a gimmicky sideshow that is fun to see. However, I believe the best way to promote swimming is through more swimming broadcasts.
Swimming needs quality broadcasts and a ton of it. Every college meet should be available to watch on some platform. I stopped everything I was doing to watch Cal vs. ASU. We need more of that exposure for the sport.
Where’s Davidson’s shout out???
Not exactly my cup of tea!
Goofiest and coolest team in the Midwest 😎
For the record, this trend was started by the Men’s Davidson Swim Team. Find the footage from the VCU vs Davidson footage on CBS…. it’s pretty great
Maybe by a swim team. The use of Speedos as a free throw distraction dates back at least to the early 2000s in Cameron Indoor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PEXG0mZKcw
Our team in the late 1980s did this. So I assume it has been going on since the 70s