The College Swimming and Diving Coaches of America (CSCAA) has announced a groundbreaking new event, the CSCAA Power 4 Dual Meet Challenge, that will run its inaugural edition this coming November.
The event will be a double-elimination, bracket-style dual meet featuring one representative from each of the Power 4 conferences, with the 2025 edition to include Michigan (Big Ten), Arizona State (Big 12), Virginia (ACC) and Tennessee (SEC).
The competition will run November 21-23, 2025, at the Allan Jones Aquatic Center at the University of Tennessee.
“We’re thrilled to host the inaugural CSCAA Power 4 Dual Meet Challenge at Tennessee—a bold new competition format that represents the future of college swimming,” said Tennessee head coach Matt Kredich.
“Tennessee has for decades been at the forefront of innovation in swimming, and this is a bold step toward the future of the sport. We are proud and excited to be part of this moment, and to help shape a blueprint that could define the next era of collegiate swimming.”
Each team will be guaranteed a minimum of three dual meets throughout the two and a half day meet.
BRACKET FORMAT
EVENT SCHEDULE
Day 1 Order of Events
- 400 Medley Relay
- 200 Free
- 50 Free
- 400 IM
- 100 Fly
- 100 Free
- 100 Back
- 100 Breast
- 400 Free Relay
Total Meet Time Est: 1 hr. 15 min.
Alternating women/men
Meet 1: #1 vs #4
Meet 2: #2 vs #3
Meet 3: M1 Loser vs. M2 Loser
Day 2 Order of Events
- 200 Medley Relay
- 200 Free
- 50 Free
- 200 IM
- 200 Fly
- 500 Free
- 100 Free
- 200 Back
- 200 Breast
- 200 Free Relay
Total Meet Time Est: 1 hr. 30 min.
Alternating women/men
Meet 4: M1 Winner vs M2 Winner
Meet 5: M3 Loser vs M4 Loser
Championship Day Order of Events
- 200 Medley Relay
- 200 Free
- 100 Back
- 100 Breast
- 200 Fly
- 200 Fly
- 50 Free
- BREAK
- 100 Free
- 100 Free
- 200 Back
- 500 Free
- 100 Fly
- 200 IM
- 200 Free Relay
Race for Third: M3 Loser vs. M5 Loser
Championship Meet: M4 Winner vs. M5 Winner
HEAD-TO-HEAD SCORING
Swimmers will be seeded by their coaches as the team’s 1st, 2nd or 3rd seed for each event, and then each seed will go head-to-head with the other team’s seed, with only the victor between the two scoring points. The winner of each head-to-head battle will earn one point for their team in individual events, and in relays, each winner claims two points.
The seeds will race side-by-side in Lanes 1 and 2, 4 and 5, and 7 and 8, with Lane 3 and 6 empty.
Scoring Breakdown
Entry Limits: 3 Entries per event
#1 vs. #1- #2 vs. #2
- #3 vs. #3
Individual Race Values:
- #1’s – 1 point
- #2’s – 1 point
- #3’s – 1 point
Relay Race Values:
- #1’s – 2 points
- #2’s – 2 points
- #3’s – 2 points
“At Virginia, we’re always looking forward—whether it’s in training, competition, or how we think about the future of our sport,” said Virginia head coach Todd DeSorbo.
“The CSCAA Power 4 Dual Meet Challenge is exactly the kind of innovative, high-level competition that aligns with how we approach our program. It’s a chance to elevate college swimming, bring new fans into the sport, and challenge our athletes in a format built for the next generation. We’re proud to be part of something that pushes the boundaries and helps shape what’s next.”
The CSCAA said the competition “introduces a dynamic, easy-to-follow format optimized for television,” with swimmers seeded head-to-head and points awarded for individual race wins.
“The time to evolve is now,” said CSCAA Executive Director Samantha Barany. “This event is about more than just competition—it’s a statement that our sport can adapt and thrive in the changing landscape of college athletics. The meet offers a scalable blueprint for teams and conferences across all divisions. It makes our sport exciting for any audience familiar with a bracket tournament.”
The CSCAA noted that the competition is being introduced to help drive interest in the sport as it faces challenges amid the pending House settlement that will reshape college sports. The organization said the competition is part of a broader strategy to safeguard the sport that also includes:
- Engaging new fans through exciting, accessible competition,
- Showcasing Olympic-level talent on the collegiate stage, and
- Providing a scalable and replicable model for conferences and institutions
The CSCAA said it plans on delivering a two-year pilot event, and is currently working with sponsors to provide exclusive access, hospitality expeirences and naming opportunities for supporters.
“This is a rare opportunity to be at the forefront of innovation in the sport of collegiate swimming and diving, and it aligns perfectly with Tennessee Athletics’ mission to lead the way forward in everything we do,” said Tyler Johnson, Tennessee’s Senior Associate Athletics Director of Administration.
“The format is built to create a fan-friendly, exciting environment, and there’s no better place to showcase that than the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, one of the top facilities in the country. It’s going to be an incredible experience for athletes, fans and the entire swimming and diving community.”
The competition will fall on the same weekend that the Tennessee Invitational did this past season, indicating that it will serve as the midseason taper meet for the four teams taking part.
Arizona State is coming off sweeping the Big 12 titles for both men and women in its first season in the conference, while the Virginia women won their sixth straight ACC title. The Cavalier men finished 8th at ACCs, while the Michigan men were the Big Ten runner-ups and the women were 3rd, and Tennessee placed 3rd for both men and women at the SEC Championships.
The competition will also feature some exciting new blood to the NCAA, including Virginia’s standout male recruiting class headlined by Thomas Heilman and Maximus Williamson, while the Michigan women will have former NCAA champion Bella Sims in the fold after she announced her transfer to the Wolverines from the University of Florida earlier this month.
Allan Jobes? More like All-in. Jones!
D1.5 has already simulated millions of 4 team tournaments in trilli-quark pools full of mercury. No human being could survive a dual meet against Iron Forge Valley Peninsula University and their Dragon-eating mascot, named undisclosed due to NDA
Name undisclosed due to NDA
THEY ARE NOT DRAGINS, they eat DRAGONS 🐲🍽️
HELP HELP
It seems designed for television and the press release makes that reference, but there’s no indication of a broadcast partner already in place.
My first thought was this reminds me of NCAA golf immediately putting together a fall match play event about a decade ago, after the spring match play NCAA championship format proved so popular. But they had a ready made media host in Golf Channel.
Secondly I think Cal and Stanford should be banned from this event for at least a decade, after their nonchalance toward the ACC Championships last spring. Meehan had a dismissive plan in place, and the Cal relay guys were all but chuckling at Amy Van Dyken during a live broadcast when she asked… Read more »
I like this format a lot better than the other format, especially from a scoring perspective as it’s a true team competition.
The day 2 meet looks a little heavy on the freestyle. I would drop one of the sprints.
LOVE the stab at an innovative, out of the box thinking format ESPECIALLY because it shortens the meet duration. This is a fan and athlete friendly program which REMOVES some of the boring distance events.
IF on Day 2 the 100 relays and 25s of stroke replaced the longer events it would be a CLASSIC WINNER.
GREAT move to NOT have any diving other than off the swimming blocks!
You Are SPEAKING THE truth. KEEP it Capital.
Randy
LOL!
Ray Looze punching air again. Entire mens team graduated and entire women’s team transferred. Back to the drawing board buddy, 1 year title window is up
Electric! Not a perfect plan imo, but a necessary step!!
The event should be scored mixed to make it more fair for the women that are not on the virginia team
The CSCAA has fallen victim to the pockets of Big Sprint
It’s kind of wild to see them completely devalue distance swimming. I guess they think it’s in the best interest of college swim coaches, but I doubt track coaches are arguing to drop the 5k for running more indoor 60s.
An indoor 60? Ain’t that like a 25? Maybe even shorter?
A 100 is already like a 25 lol
Yeah not understanding the argument being made. Our shortest race is the 50 which is comparable (TV wise) to the 200.
Shorter; fastest indoor 60 is just under 6 seconds.
As a fan of a team who famously is distance-heavy, I dont like this
Show distance some love… 😍👍