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 |
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