The NCAA Sport Oversight Commission tabled the proposed format changes to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships during its final meeting before the new governance structure takes effect next month.
The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) put forward a proposal for numerous changes to the NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, including removing ‘B’ finals, rescheduling the competition to optimize broadcasting, shuffling the order of events, and introducing a new qualification model.
The NCAA Swimming and Diving Committee Liaison presented the CSCAA’s recommendations to the Oversight Committee on Wednesday, with the committee opting to table the proposal and defer its review to the new Swimming and Diving Committee that will be formed in the coming months.
All but one sport-specific proposal was tabled during the meeting, given the upcoming governance changes.
The new governance structure coming into effect in September will include 30 Division I committees, 19 of which govern each Division I championship sport, including swimming and diving.
Once the new Swim & Dive committee is formed, the CSCAA plans to begin engaging in talks about the proposed format changes from the outset, as it will have a seat on the committee.
However, with this tabling, the CSCAA told SwimSwam there are no anticipated changes to the structure of the 2026 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships.
Going deeper into the some specifics of the proposal, it includes changing the schedule to increase the excitement of the final day of competition, splitting diving to lessen the number of rounds of diving that split up finals sessions of swimming, dropping B Finals and scoring 9th-16th place out of prelims, and creating automatic qualification opportunities for conference champions – specifically from mid-major conferences.
“The CSCAA was aware that this was a possible outcome and will look forward to working with the Division I Swimming and Diving Committee starting this fall,” said CSCAA Executive Director Samantha Barany.
“Collegiate swimming and diving will only thrive if we take bold, strategic steps forward. This proposal is not about changing our sport for the sake of change—it is about knowing and aligning with what is most valued in college athletics today.
“Expanding championship access and increasing television visibility are essential in the collegiate sports landscape. If we do not grow and expand our presence, not simply sustain it, the entire ecosystem of our sport will remain vulnerable. The CSCAA will continue working toward this end and supporting our teams and coaches throughout the process.”
Who else gets a seat on that committee?
This comment will probably receive a lot of hate, but we’re making the wrong changes. yes this will probably gain a few more viewers on espn, but it will be people who watch by chance while channel surfing. It will also lose some viewers who won’t have a reason to watch any more because their swimmer isn’t racing. More importantly though it will hurt the swimmers and more specifically the developmental swimmers. The kids trying to bridge the gap between elite and world class who are losing championship swim opportunities that may be very important in their future. If we’re being honest the ncaa championships aren’t bringing in the big bucks and they aren’t bringing in new fans of the… Read more »
The focus should not be on making many sweeping changes at once but one change at a time to see what the effects are.
The easiest one to go with is starting the marketing train ahead of the meet. Tell the audience about the stories: which swimmers/divers have chances to break records, when was the last time a swimmer or diver qualified from this school, dark horses to make finals or win events.
Create compelling stories to build the audience. We know the swim/dive community will watch. The next target should be the diehard sports fans – people who bleed burnt orange (Texas fans) and want to see championships simply because it’s Texas. Those folks get their communities involved.
And… Read more »
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Nothing ever happens
for rabid NCAA swim fans, the current championship format and Peacock streaming is great!
for those with a casual interest in swimming, a 90 minute highlights show on NBC a week later is fine.
the NCAA championships are for the swimmers, not for the casual viewers!
no changes will bring a larger audience or advertising dollars.
correction- rabid fans pay $12 to watch on ESPN+
casual interest gets one short highlight show.
format change will do nothing but affect the swimmers.
the current format and streaming situation has zero commercial value and will lead to the end of ncaa swimming. peacock streaming is where media products w no prospects get dumped.
i dont like many of the changes being proposed but there need to be changes in order to make ncaa swimming more commercially viable. that doesnt mean it has to be as profitable as football but it does need to be more commercially viable than it is currently…
the push shouldnt be to stop any changes but to make sure the changes being requested by espn dont have too many long term performance implications imo (like devaluing distance events).
But the current proposals were already devaluing certain aspects of the sport that are marketable: changing the format of diving will lose the diving/gymnastics crowd that watches and serves as a pipeline for the sport; changing the event order so that common doubles are now impossible will kill any chance of having and marketing versatile swimmers; cutting B-finals will cut off friends, family, and other supporters of those swimmers who will no longer be on TV.
Removing B finals will not bring a single new viewer to the broadcast.
May even lose a few viewers. Grandma will no longer tune in the watch Jonny who was in B final. Team State U back at home has no reason to watch since their swimmer was 9-16 and is now not swimming.
Agree! Removing B finals is also not good for the swimmers!! Ridiculous idea.
thats definitionally not true. if these changes are being requested by espn in exchange for placing ncaas in a more favorable linear spot that will bring in new viewers by virtue of the linear placement.
not to say i like these changes but theyre being requested by ppl with access to actual data about viewing habits and not rando swimming insiders basing their opinions on personal preference
ARE these changes being requested by espn? ARE these changes being requested in order to place NCAAs in a more favorable linear spot? ARE these changes being requested by people with access to actual data about viewing habits?
Or are we just throwing spaghetti at the wall, and thinking ‘tight / short / condense’ is better?
ESPN has entered into an agreement with the NCAA to show the majority of the championships on what is now ESPN+. With the launch of their new app today combining all their programming they have a huge incentive not to move anything to linear TV. And, they aren’t contractually obligated to do so.
NCAA’s are in March when they are competing with the NBA, NHL, MLB, and NCAA basketball for eye balls. The finals are shown live now. Are you saying that they won’t be shown live in the future or are you saying that if they shrink the show to 1 hour, the finals will appear on the mothership. I’m old enough to remember the days where they would show events on tape delay when they could edit the broadcast down before air.
Indecision is not a decision. Don’t know what to do? Hold another meeting! Oooh, form a new committee! Spend next month (two?) working on an agenda! That’s great. Ooh. And then maybe meet to talk about the meeting, to review the agenda. Brilliant. I’m so tired of the leaders of this sport failing to lead.
A reprieve but not feeling that great about it. Most/all of these changes feel inevitable, unfortunately.