CSCAA To Propose Addition Of Stroke 50s, New Qualification Model For NCAA Championships

In a nationwide email to Division I swimming and diving coaches, the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) notified programs of a proposal they plan to submit to the NCAA in early June, that would significantly reshape the NCAA Championships as we currently know them.

In the email, CSCAA Executive Director Samantha Barany said, “We don’t expect everyone to embrace every aspect of any proposed change. However, I’m hopeful we can all agree that change is critical—and that meaningful progress will require some level of concession from all of us.”

She added, “We are in the early stages of seeking conference-level support, and your advocacy is crucial. I encourage you to speak with your sport administrator in support of this proposal—not just as a coach, but as a leader committed to shaping the future of our sport.”

The proposal includes several major updates aimed at modernizing the meet format. See a breakdown of the key highlights below, in an easy-to-read format.

• Addition of 50s of Stroke: Following their inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, the 50-yard backstroke, breaststroke, and butterfly would be added to the NCAA Championship program. This proposed changes would require a one-year “implementation runway,” meaning the earliest they could appear on the NCAA Championship schedule is 2027.
  • Despite these potential additional events, there has been no indication that swimmers would be allowed to compete in more than their already allotted three individual events.
• Separate ‘B’ Finals Session: The consolation finals (‘B’ heats) would be moved to a dedicated session earlier in the day, much like how diving events are currently split. The stated purpose for this is to “reduce the overall duration of finals sessions and meeting media partners’ needs to fit within a two-hour broadcast window.”
• Diving Finals Modification: Finals diving would be divided into two blocks, with three rounds conducted twice during the evening session. This introduces two diving breaks, strategically spacing out events and offering swimmers additional rest opportunities.
• New Team Diving Event: The CSCAA is proposing the addition of a team diving event on Day 1 of the competition. While details are still being finalized, the format may be adapted depending on consensus—whether the event should include platform diving or be limited to springboard for broader accessibility. Like the stroke 50s, an “implementation runway” would be required.
• Adjusting Award Ceremony Timing: All award presentations would be moved to the end of each finals session, rather than at the conclusion of each event.
• Moving the 1650 Freestyle & Shifting Relay Heats: Currently held on the final day of the meet, the proposal calls for shifting the 1650 freestyle to the first day of competition. Under the proposed format, the top 8 seeds would swim in the evening finals session, seeds 9–16 in the afternoon, and all remaining swimmers (17 and up) in the morning. Day one relays are also included in this proposed 2026 shift, meaning the 200 medley and 800 freestyle relay could potentially be contested across all three sessions (in the same style of 1-8, 9-16, 17 and up). The proposal does not clarify whether this format would apply to the other relays next season, although the proposed 2027 schedules include all of them. More on that towards the end of this article.
  

Revised Qualification Model:

• The CSCAA is advocating for a single qualification standard, eliminating the current ‘A’ and ‘B’ cut system.
• Automatic qualification (AQ) would also be granted to athletes who win their individual events at their conference championship meet, provided they meet the new time standard.
• This new model would create a more transparent and inclusive qualification process, broadening institutional and conference representation without compromising competitive integrity. Impact analysis suggests no change to scoring athletes, but an overall increase in the number of represented programs and conferences.

Below are the two proposed NCAA Championship event orders drafted by the College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), contingent on the inclusion of the stroke 50s (50 backstroke, 50 breaststroke, and 50 butterfly) starting in 2027. For comparison’s sake, the current event order is also included.

Interestingly, all relays are included in prelims under the proposed format, but it’s currently unclear how they would be conducted. One possibility is that they’ll follow a format similar to the 1650 freestyle—where the top 8 are swum in the A final, seeds 9–16 in the consolation session, and the remaining teams in the morning. Alternatively, this could mark the full reintroduction of prelim relays for the first time since 2019.

Either scenario presents logistical challenges. For example, swimmers who qualify for individual ‘A’ finals and are also on relays seeded in the 9–16 range could be required to swim in three separate sessions in a single day, which would make recovery especially difficult. This same issue is present for the new ‘B’ finals format, as it could create the same logistical concerns.

SwimSwam will reach out to the CSCAA for clarification on the proposed relay format.