In the span of just hours, the speculation of a revamped International Swimming League (ISL) has now come to fruition, in the form of the new College Swimming League (CSL).
The CSL, founded by Robert Kent (the former general manager and owner of the Toronto Titans of the ISL) and Kyle Sockwell, with additional support from the International Swimming League, hopes to revolutionize the fall swim season into a broadcast-ready spectacle, with the inaugural season set for the fall of 2026.
The new league has already created a website and social media pages, with the first Instagram post captioned “This is just the start.”
“College swimming is a proven breeding ground for Olympians and world record holders but for too long has been an untapped reservoir of commercial opportunity,” said Robert Kent, CEO of the College Swimming League in a press release from the league. “The CSL is here to change that. We are committing the operational expertise and capital to elevate the sport, creating a consistent, exciting, and commercially sustainable product that benefits all stakeholders – from universities and athletes to the NCAA, CSCAA, broadcasters, sponsors and most of all, the fans.”
The new league will offer membership to 12 top-tier swimming universities as “founding members” (to be announced later), with the possibility of future expansion in future seasons.
NC State Head Coach Braden Holloway and Ohio State Head Coach Bill Dorenkott were each quoted in the press release, likely indicating that they are two of the 12 teams that will be part of those “founding member” teams.
“We’re proud to be part of a league that brings fresh energy and a new platform to showcase the best of college swimming,” Holloway said.
“Ohio State is beyond thrilled to be a part of the inaugural season of the College Swimming League. Rob and Kyle have created a platform to promote the sport in a dynamic manner. We are grateful for the opportunity and looking forward to competing.” Dorenkott added.
The format of the competitions will follow what was previously held in the ISL, which will “feature a dynamic, team-based format modeled on the ISL, with each match involving four teams and focusing on high-energy, short course yards (SCY) Racing.” as mentioned in the press release.
The matches will also include Skins and Super Skins, which are geared towards a more intriguing and engaging broadcast.
The press release says that times from these CSL matches will count towards NCAA Championship qualification, and the meets themselves will count towards NCAA dual meet requirements.
The structure of the new league is intended to support participating universities by covering travel and lodging costs, generating revenue, and increasing visibility for the programs.
Earlier today, the International Swimming League posted to their Instagram (which has since been deleted, but still lives on their Facebook page), with the caption “There’s more to swimming than podiums and medals. At ISL we believe in giving swimmers real career stability, fair pay, respect and a chance to thrive as individuals and teammates. Dive into how we’re putting athletes first.”. The CSL says that it is “being supported by” the ISL, but did not clarify the nature of that relationship.
I didn’t care about the ISL but I’ll watch this. College swimming never gets any air time, especially compared to track and field where dozens and dozens of smaller meets are quietly televised every year by ESPN and the conference networks.
Besides, I’ve long despised the college mentality, and oft expressed in comments here, that nothing matters in college swimming until the NCAAs. This will force the swimmers to be at or near peak at other times of the season.
And if they aren’t, the commentators can’t be shills who don’t point it out.
I forget – how did ISL work out when they had most of the best swimmers in the world competing? Huge TV numbers, timely payments to swimmers, etc – right?
Not sure why A) anybody thinks this is going to move the needle B) anybody is trusting this organization
Where is the CSCAA in all of this? Have they been part of this? Against it? Caught unawares?
Man do I have way too many critical questions… I just think already the very few things that have been said are just something you shouldn’t feel great about.
They said money will be given to the schools to help with participation. Obviously, the war got in the way, but money was always tight for the ISL. That is a lot of money to bring all these teams in.
I guess maybe they can’t pay athletes because it is part of the NCAA season, is that the problem? It seems like the best way to get buy-in would be to give the athletes cash for wins and stuff. 2k per race is a lot more doable than 80k… Read more »
The Players Era Festival model is how you funnel money back to the players.
Rob Kent is legit and has some resources.
Funding this won’t take nearly what it took to fund ISL. The ways ISL spent money were flabbergasting – including buying television time rather than just streaming the meets.
The most important part: what type of beer sponsorship deal did they sign? Or hard seltzer?
Bapples bro, Bapples.
Maybe this is a good thing in general but I was hoping they bring the pro league back instead of this. I guess we will never know what peak Marchand, Douglass and Gretchen Walsh can do in an ISL format.
Re-pasting what I threaded below as a standalone because I think it’s a good idea…
I think just having a series of ISL-formatted quad meets is an exciting change in itself that I personally would turn on and watch even though I’d never bother watching a regular dual meet live.
That alone is an innovative idea worth celebrating. The whole re-branding of “CSL” is confusing to me though. Why not just take the top 16 teams from NCAAs in the preceding season and then have the NCAA put on a series of quad meets and then a finals meet. Could all be done in the fall. Then conference and NCAA in spring as normal.
Call it like NCAA elite… Read more »
I think the NCAA is too busy fighting lawsuits to think that proactively about a sport (I am sorry to say) that doesn’t pay the bills. Takes someone outside the box to get this started. I grant you, if this succeeds and there is some substantial money/viewership, the NCAA may rethink that and have more of a role…
I value innovation, but I don’t subscribe to the “be everything to everyone” mindset. Swimming isn’t football, basketball or hockey – and it likely will never appeal to the masses in the same way. That’s okay. We should focus on growing the sport while preserving its integrity.
Lately, changes like avant-garde meet formats, new NCAA championship rules, mixed relays, stroke 50s replacing the 400FR, and now CSL, feel gimmicky – a description I’d argue swimming has rarely been associated with.
Instead, we should invest in building a stronger foundation: expanding swim lessons, fostering a love for the sport early, and engaging families through summer leagues, YMCAs, clubs, and school programs. Positive experiences will create lifelong fans – not just spectators… Read more »
to me the problem is that coaches seem to be still in 60s and life is in 2025….
THIS! Totally agree.
ok, but that is on USA swimming, who is responsible for grass roots development. not on NCAA swim programs and a couple of people who want to put some more money and fun into the sport