Greensboro Expected to Replace Iowa City as Hosts of 2021 Men’s NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship Meet

Braden Keith
by Braden Keith 25

October 05th, 2020 News

The NCAA is expected this week to vote on a motion to replace the University of Iowa as hosts of the 2020 NCAA Men’s Division I Swimming & Diving Championships. Greensboro, North Carolina has emerged as the favorite, sources tell SwimSwam. Greensboro is already scheduled to host the 2021 Women’s NCAA Championship meet.

The NCAA is also expected to finalize a move of the Zone A Diving Championships from Liberty University to Virginia Tech after problems with Liberty’s new diving apparatus caused one of their diving platforms to fall into the pool.

In early September, the CSCAA reported that the NCAA was looking for a new host for the men’s NCAA Championship meet after Iowa announced that it was cutting its men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs.

While there have been few updates yet as to when the 2020-2021 NCAA season will happen or what it will look like amid the coronavirus pandemic, that was enough to drive the NCAA to replace Iowa as the host.

Iowa was first awarded hosting duties in early 2017.

With the move to Greensboro, the event will get a larger spectator capacity – if spectators are allowed at the meet. While Iowa can seat 1,200 spectators (with an expansion option behind glass), Greensboro has permanent spectator seating for 1,850 off-deck. That’s one of the largest spectator capacities in the US.

If spectators were allowed, that would help address the huge ticket demands that saw the 2019 men’s NCAA Championship meet sell out before public sales opened.

Since opening on August 26, 2011, the Greensboro Aquatic Center has become a centerpiece of the American swimming rotation. Among many other major meets, it previously hosted the 2015 Women’s NCAA Division I Championship meet.

By hosting both the men’s and women’s meets at the same location, there is also the potential for some cost-savings for the NCAA. Packaging hotel rooms for the two events could allow for better rates, and keeping equipment in one location could reduce on transportation costs.

The NCAA has previously hosted the Division I Championships in the same location on several occasions, including 2019 in Austin, 2017 in Indianapolis, 2016 in Atlanta, 2013 in Indianapolis, and 2019 in College Station, Texas.

Zone A Diving

In other NCAA Championship news, Virginia Tech, rather than Liberty, is expected to get the nod to host the Zone A Diving Championships instead of Liberty University.

Over the summer, Liberty had one of their diving platforms fall into the pool. Nobody was injured, but upon inspection, they discovered that an error in construction at the new natatorium resulted in the platform failing. The school has removed all of their diving platforms and plans to rebuild them after this season.

Zone Diving is a series of 5 events that determine the NCAA Championship qualifiers. Because of the variability of scoring in diving across judges and locations, participants must hit a certain score to be eligible for Zone Diving qualification. Then they are selected to the NCAA Championships based on finish position at those Zone meets.

The NCAA has not released the host locations for the 2021 Zone Diving Championships to the public yet.

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Berek Don
3 years ago

Great local and excellent choice.

Anonymous
3 years ago

Please what are the dates for NCAA Champs for women and men? I’m sorry if I missed it or was in a link I didn’t click.

Time For Barta To Go
3 years ago

U of Iowa shouldn’t (ever) host another major meet again – NCAA, nor USA Swimming. Iowa high school state (both genders) can continue at Marshaltown.

Congratulations U of Iowa, you got your wish! No more competitive swimming and diving at your place (both genders). You have deemed those as lessor sports, with lessor people. Your message was clear – “no amount of fundraising, including fully endowing both teams, will change this decision.”

Nice pool though. Enjoy paying that electric and gas bill each month – WITH NO OUTSIDE REVENUE.

L.
3 years ago

I think The Nat in Indy would be a great spot. It’s where it was supposed to be in 2020

Ghost
3 years ago

Maybe parents but doubt any fans….and that is a big maybe! And what will conference champs do this year! SEC is a huge meet with men and women! Even if they split it, it is still impossible to social distance! Maybe it will all just disappear? Kidding
The best is mandatory vaccine shots for everyone involved if it is available by then

John
Reply to  Ghost
3 years ago

that is a giant if

Swimparent
Reply to  Ghost
3 years ago

Conference champs is even gonna be tricky for the athletes. If most teams are allowed 24 athletes, plus trainers plus coaches, you’re going to have 30+ from each team sitting too close to even their own teammates if they put them in the usual aluminum 5 tiered deck bleachers.

Last edited 3 years ago by Swimparent
DeepSouth
Reply to  Swimparent
3 years ago

If they don’t allow fans or only minimum fans, they can spread them in the stands. One idea.

Captain Ahab
Reply to  Ghost
3 years ago

Under the Constitution you can not demand individuals to take a vaccination. The only people that a vaccination can be mandatory are prisoners and military personnel.

IU Swammer
Reply to  Captain Ahab
3 years ago

That’s not accurate. Vaccines can be and often are mandatory for many things, including public school, extra curriculars, travel abroad, and medical personnel. Some exemptions are provided for religious and medical reason, but those are not guaranteed. For example, courts recently upheld New York’s vaccination requirement for schools—even over religious objections—due to the massive measles outbreak.

Captain Ahab
Reply to  IU Swammer
3 years ago

False…under the 14th amendment

Swummer
Reply to  Captain Ahab
3 years ago

The Supreme Court in 1905 upheld the constitutionality of a state criminal law that required adults in Cambridge, Mass., to get a smallpox vaccine or be fined. The court said that an individual’s liberty rights under the U.S. Constitution are not absolute and the law was necessary for public health and safety. Courts still rely on the reasoning of the case, and states have mandated vaccines. In 2019, New York City required measles vaccinations anyone over six months old. Non-compliers were fined.

Captain Ahab
Reply to  Swummer
3 years ago

Understanding how corrupt the southern New York Attorney General is and Und how corrupt the New York courts can be is this case under appeal and are there others cases that can be sited from across the United States? Nothing is truly settled. Everything can be challenged. Like James Councilman said question everything. I am reminded of how Elon Musk recently said “He would not be taking the vaccine because Bill Gates is a knuckle head.” Frankly would you trust a vaccine manufactured someone who said they wanted to reduce the majority of the worlds population? I am not anti vaccine but you can not force someone to take a vaccine. Sure they maybe get fined and maybe not allowed… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by Captain Ahab
Blind Sheep
Reply to  Ghost
3 years ago

Wait so you want a bunch of healthy college athletes to take a vaccine that’s had a year of testing at most with no knowledge of long term effects on health? At this point the virus is likely healthier than a vaccine on this type of population.

Accswimmer
3 years ago

ACC men will have a homefield advantage then

joe
3 years ago

The NCAA is also expected to finalize a move of the Zone A Diving Championships from Liberty University to Virginia Tech after problems with Liberty’s new diving apparatus caused one of their diving platforms to fall into the pool.”

seems like a problem

Liberty Construction Crew
Reply to  joe
3 years ago

bahahaha

SSwimer
3 years ago

keep it 100 NCAA

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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