LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas swimming and diving team announced its 2021-22 schedule on Monday that is highlighted by six meets within the state of Kansas, including the CSCAA Open Water Championships, Sunflower Showdown and an Alumni Meet.
“We’re really excited about hopefully having a normal year after COVID,” KU head coach Clark Campbell said. “It’s a very traditional schedule for us with having a fall championship meet to see where we are and finish up with Big 12s and NCAAs. Our team is really looking forward to in-person competition again.”
The Jayhawks will open the season hosting the 2021 College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Open Water Championship at Lone Star Lake on Friday, Sept. 17. This will be the fifth time in program history that Kansas has hosted the event and first since 2019. KU will welcome 70 competitors in both the men’s and women’s categories to swim in the five-kilometer race.
KU will begin its competition season with the Sunflower Showdown on October 1. The meet will take place at Topeka’s Capital Federal Natatorium in Topeka, Kansas, where different swim programs from the state of Kansas will compete.
Kansas follows up the Sunflower Showdown with the KU Alumni Meet on Friday, October 15, which is also football Homecoming Weekend. A week later, the Jayhawks host their first double-dual meet of the season welcoming South Dakota and Missouri State on October 22-23. Following the two home meets, the Jayhawks hit the road for a stretch beginning with a dual meet in Lincoln, Nebraska, against Nebraska on November 5.
The first time the swim and dive program will split locations is in mid-November. The diving team will travel to Columbia, Missouri, November 18-20 for the Mizzou Invite, while the swim team will be in Topeka for the Kansas Classic from November 19-21. Both of these meets mark the last competition for the Jayhawks during the 2021 calendar year.
Kansas opens 2022 in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Friday, January 7, at Hawaii. The Jayhawks return to Robinson Natatorium on January 22 for a dual meet against Arkansas, before wrapping up the regular-season in Ames, Iowa, against Iowa State on February 4-5.
The Big 12 Championship is set for February 23-26 in Morgantown, West Virginia. For those swimmers and divers who post qualifying times or scores to extend their seasons, the NCAA Zone Diving Championships will take place March 8-10 with a location to be determined and the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships run March 16-19 in Atlanta, Georgia.
All Kansas home meets at Robinson Natatorium, Topeka’s Capitol Federal Natatorium and Lone Star Lake are free admission and open to the public.
