SwimSwam Pulse is a recurring feature tracking and analyzing the results of our periodic A3 Performance Polls. You can cast your vote in our newest poll on the SwimSwam homepage, about halfway down the page on the right side.
Our most recent poll asked SwimSwam readers if the Pac-12 Championships will hold any more weight this year:
Question: With realignment coming, will teams put more precedence on the Pac-12 Championships this season?
RESULTS
- No – 73.2%
- Yes – 26.8%
With the mass exodus of schools from the Pac-12 on the horizon, this season’s conference championship meets will be unique.
The two-time defending women’s champions from Stanford will join the ACC next season, as will the reigning two-time NCAA champions on the men’s side, Cal.
After winning the first men’s Pac-12 swim & dive title in program history, Arizona State is bound for the Big 12, as is Arizona and Utah. USC and UCLA are headed to the Big Ten, while Washington State, which only has a women’s program, is joining the West Coast Conference (which doesn’t sponsor swimming—they’ll likely participate in the Mountain West Conference Championships).
All of this is to say that the 2024 Pac-12 Swimming & Diving Championships will be the last of its era, which begs the question: Does that make them mean more?
The top teams in the country have always put more precedence on NCAAs, but they’ll still do everything they can—as long as it doesn’t hinder NCAA preparation—to win the conference title.
Nearly three-quarters of readers, 73.2%, don’t think the championships will hold any extra weight or importance for swimmers and coaches this year.
There’s an argument to be made that being the “last” Pac-12 champion, either in an individual event or in the team race, holds some significance, which 26.8% of readers seem to believe.
While we know that Cal and Arizona State will be battling for the men’s title regardless, and the Stanford women are the odds-on favorites to three-peat on the women’s side, this question might be better suited to individual events.
Especially for those heading to the ACC, winning a conference title will become significantly more difficult as they join powerhouses such as Virginia and NC State, and this may be a swimmer’s best shot at doing so.
The Men’s Pac-12 Championships dates back to 1961, with USC winning 14 of the first 16 titles before Stanford went on an unprecedented streak of 31 consecutive championships from 1982 to 2012. Most recently, Cal won five straight before ASU took them down last season.
The Women’s Pac-12 Championships have been held since 1987, with Stanford having won 25 of the 37 titles, including the first 13.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: How much weight do you give World Championship medals from Doha given the pared-down field:
Loading ...
ABOUT A3 PERFORMANCE
The A3 Performance Poll is courtesy of A3 Performance, a SwimSwam partner.
Mickey Mouse WCs
Asterisk WCs
Re the new poll: it depends.
If someone is there with strong competition and swims a time that would have won a regular world champs, I’ll consider that 100%.
If someone is there with a weak field and wins in an unimpressive time I might consider it 0%.
I don’t think there’s just a flat “do medals from Doha count or not” answer
I’m comfortable to assign a 50% to every medal. Even if the time is strong, the field isn’t complete.
Even if the time is weak, it did win gold.
It sounds reasonable. With less competition, swimmers may feel less pressure so can register great time.
We will be there because we have gone every year as we are a swim family who lives in the Pacific Northwest. The biggest significance to us is our youngest/senior in high school would have had her conference championships there starting next year and she is bummed not being able to have them at her childhood local championship pool.
I think more local swim families may go knowing it’s the last one. These college swimmers have been inspiring to our daughter over the years.
Women NCAA Championshisp will be at Federal Way next year. Something to aim for.
Yes – this is what her future college coaches keep reminding her. Great motivator.