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 college swimming moved to a format similar to football, would it make for more exciting viewing?
Question: If NCAA swimming & diving was formatted like football, with weekly dual meets and the national championships being a head-to-head dual, would it be more exciting?
RESULTS
- No – 65.1%
- Yes – 29.3%
- The Same – 5.6%
The NCAA Championship format walks the line of allowing swimmers to thrive individually while also putting precedence on team scoring and relays.
The nature of college sports necessitates that the team aspect be significant at the championship conclusion of a season, so what if swimming & diving went all-in, and followed a similar format to other sports?
There would continue to be dual meets throughout the season, the only major change would be that the results of those duals would hold much more significance. One loss would be a major blow to a team’s hopes of vying for the conference and national title. Two would be curtains.
The top two teams in each conference would end up going head-to-head for their title in February, and then we could have something akin to a dual meet bracket tournament of conference champions before we find the two teams that will battle for the national crown.
There are many reasons why this format wouldn’t work in swimming, one of which is the fact that athletes on teams that aren’t in title contention wouldn’t get much of a chance to put their abilities on full display and compete with the NCAA’s best.
It would also force coaches to dramatically change the way they structure their season training-wise, and swimmers would be called on to perform well throughout the season rather than saving it all up for one or two big tapers.
It would be fun and interesting to see dual meets with such high stakes, recreating some of the strategies we saw implemented by clubs during the International Swimming League (ISL) era, but most of you don’t think it would be better (or at least more exciting) than the current format.
In our latest poll, more than 65 of readers voted that a football-style format would not be more exciting than what we’ve currently got, while over 29 percent thought that it would. The other 5.6 percent are indifferent.
While it ultimately wouldn’t work, no one can deny that a two-day dual between the Cal and Arizona State men or the Virginia and Texas women with everything on the line wouldn’t be must-see TV.
Below, vote in our new A3 Performance Poll, which asks: Which event is most wide open this season?
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I’d be all about a 50 meter championship format. Put there times in the perspective of Olympic standards… imagine the excitement of seeing a true world record at an NCAA meet. Yards really don’t mean anything at the end of the day …
No- sounds like a terrible idea.
*Seems* that Swimswam, once again, feels that they are the tail-wagging-the-dog: excessive overhype not wanted
25 Meters…..like the rest off the world
You guys were really scraping the bottom of the barrel with this question.
Maybe set up an early season dual meet tournament that ends before Christmas? It would probably kill, or at least hurt, the midseason invites but it could add some early season drama without changing the current championship season format.
Willswim, I think your post contains the seeds for an exciting way to juice up interest in the overall college swimming program.
Track has long had separate championship meets for indoor and outdoor track, in March and June respectively. We don’t need to change our primary National Championships. Why can’t WE have two?
First, if we are patterning after other revenue sports, I think we look more at March Madness than Football. Swimming, without really changing our season training choices/format which sees most teams try to swim well, if not at peak, in the fall already, can have National Dual Championship in early December, after a qualifying round in mid-November. And just like March Madness, where each… Read more »
Well said! In my mind I was thinking the top 16 finishers from the previous year’s NCAAs qualify (ties broken by who had more relay points), but using CSCAA rankings would work too.
I think athletic departments would object to having to plan and pay for travel last minute for teams that advance. It would also be difficult to schedule regular non tournament meets during the fall when your potential opponent knows you might have to cancel the meet at the last second if you’re no longer available because you advanced in the tournament. These are all things people smarter than me can figure out though. Let’s get it done!
Dual meet/football style is logistically impossible, but it would be thrilling as a swim fan. Never want to see it happen in the NCAA, but I liked the ISL and hope it comes back to fill that niche.
I would be in favor of an all-relay NCAA Championship meet outside of the current format. 200s & 400s. No one wants to watch an 800-free relay.
I do and an 800 Medley