USA Swimming’s recent financial release revealed a staggering $400,000 severance payment to former CEO Tim Hinchey following his resignation last August, and there is more to come.
Last week, SwimSwam published the USA Swimming tax form 990, which is the form required for U.S. tax exempt organizations that offers a detailed overview of the organization’s spending while simultaneously serving as a public disclosure document.
That form revealed that the top four earners from 2024 were no longer with the organization. Former CEO Hinchey was the highest paid employee, bringing in a massive $1,051,489 with only $575,241 coming from his base salary.
Hinchey resigned at the end of August in 2024, leaving about 16 months on his contract that was extended in 2021 to run through the end of 2025.
Page 54 of the 990 form that is available on USA Swimming’s website reveals that Hinchey received a $400,000 payment in 2024 as part of the “severance agreement”, and that he will be “receiving a second installment payment in 2025.”
Former National Team Director Lindsay Mintenko received a “one-time severance payment” of $139,500.
USA Swimming’s 2025 Budget document reveals $415,800 approved for “CEO Transition”, which is a little more than $100,000 less than the $517,800 the organization “projects” they spent on the same line item in 2024.
A spokesperson for USA Swimming confirmed this money was spent on a variety of items such as “contractual severance, search firm fees, PR service, legal services, and Interim CEO temporary housing”, but they were unable to give a line-item of how these costs broke down.
During the more than one-year-long search for CEO, that featured the hiring and quick resignation of Shana Ferguson, USA Swimming went through two different search firms before hiring Kevin Ring after 371 days without formal leadership.
The organization is predicting a $1.8 million revenue shortfall for 2025, partially due to falling membership and ad dollars, and they have projected a -$414,752 operating deficit for the year.
This is one of those stories that just pisses everyone off, but unfortunately is also just how business works. The part that bothers me most is the payment this year. Paying someone $400,000 to go away? Yesh, that sucks but probably cheapest way out of the situation. Giving them another payment after that? Typing my thoughts will get me in SwimSwam comment jail.
What is crazy to me is how these guys get performance bonuses and such, even when you wonder what they did to earn it. Isn’t growing the sport your day job? Say you grow an average of 2-3% over time. So you do that one year and double your salary as a bonus? How about you… Read more »
Ha. Suckers. It’s always about the money in sport.
Brian Kelly’s burner phone has entered the chat.
Mr Hinchey did the best he could…so move on and do not begrudge a man for trying to earn an honest living!
If someone has a multi year contract, the severance is usually a part of it. Not unusual.
I always thought severance was for retrenched employees. How nice to be able to quit AND get paid big money
He didn’t really “quit”, so this is probably just what was negotiated to just get him to go away.
How long does it take grass root coaches that have coached foe decades fo maks $400k. USAS is so upside down.
The only way you make money as a “grassroots” coach is by stealing 30+ swimmers from an established club when you start out.
As someone who started with 6 pre-competitive kids in a 4-lane pool, I can tell you that it would take me a LONG time to make that through swimming.
Then again, if I was worried about that, I wouldn’t be coaching swimming.
It must be nice to be a failing CEO
Until you run into a Luigi in the wild.
Unbelievable. The whole board should be fired.
For a fair board reset, board members that served during Hinchey’s departure and the CEO search should resign. Coughlin stepped down. The rest of that crew should as well. We have some new reps on the board that deserve a fair shot at leadership.
That is a fair statement; the previous members helped create or enhance the issues, actively or by doing nothing; they should help fix it by resigning and allowing others to do the job to “right the ship”.
Ken should be removed at this point. Vice Chair of Finance. He has an inflated view of self worth and is stunted in maturity. He’s been horrible for this organization.
ok so this was a joke
https://swimswam.com/usa-swimming-projects-1-8-million-revenue-shortfall-in-2025-on-falling-membership-ad-dollars/#comment-1650363
but i mean, if y’all are listening:
Give $2 mil to Steve Nolan