By Anne Lepesant on SwimSwam
The NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Oversight Committee has agreed to make changes to the format of the national championship beginning in 2027, accepting most of the recommendations put forth by the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
For the 2025-26 swimming and diving season, the NCAA made a number of changes to the Division I championships, including removing ‘B’ finals, rescheduling the competition to optimize broadcasting, shuffling the order of events, and introducing a new qualification model. The new format drew wide criticism, and the CSCAA reacted immediately by creating a Division I NCAA Championship Working Group. After soliciting feedback and meeting twice during the month of April, the working group put together a list of recommendations for both the 2027 NCAA Championships and the future (2028 and beyond).
The Swimming and Diving Oversight Committee has now approved most of those recommendations.
Consolation finals
‘B’ finals are back! The NCAA has approved reinstating the consolation finals for the 2027 championships. While in the past, the finals session for swimming has consisted of a ‘B’ final followed by an ‘A’ final for each event, the 2027 model will have all consolation finals starting at 6 p.m., with all championship finals beginning at at 7 p.m.
Diving consolation finals will begin immediately after the preliminaries, while the championship finals will take place in the evening session. Diving will retain the split format that was introduced in 2026: the first 3 rounds (or first 2 rounds in women’s platform) will take place before the ‘A’ finals begin and the last 3 rounds will take place before the last 2 heats of the relay each evening on Days 2, 3 and 4 of the championships.
Event order
The committee approved bringing back the 2025 order of events, with one exception: the 1650 free will continue to be contested on Day 1. However, the committee removed the swimming preliminary session on the first day and returned it to a single-timed finals session in the evening.
Changes to relays
The committee approved swimming all relay heats in the evening sessions. On Days 2, 3 and 4 of the championships, the two fastest heats will be contested during the ‘A’ finals; all the slower heats will be conducted with consolation finals.
Award ceremonies
Awards ceremonies will immediately follow each A-final event during commercial breaks.
Qualification standards
The committee changed the qualification standards to allow only 10% of invited student-athletes to qualify by winning a conference title. The men’s standard is set at the 64th best time from the 2025-26 season, and the women’s standard, on the 88th best time from 2025-26. Moreover, conference qualifiers will be selected only in their top-ranked event.
The NCAA stated that “[the] changes support the goal of presenting the championship for linear broadcast opportunities while enhancing the in-venue and student-athlete experiences.”
CSCAA Executive Director Samantha Barany said, “These changes represent an important step forward for collegiate swimming and diving. They allow us to provide student-athletes with the championship experience they deserve and create a model that is prepared for the realities and opportunities of today’s landscape. Most importantly, we can begin exploring what the future of the championship can become. By working together, we have created a foundation that addresses today’s needs while opening the door for long-term innovation and continued progress for the sport.”
CSCAA Division I NCAA Championship Working Group:
Arthur Albiero, University of Louisville Herbie Behm, Arizona State University Matt Crispino, Princeton University Todd DeSorbo, University of Virginia Dave Durden, University of California, Berkeley Braden Holloway, North Carolina State University Matt Kredich, University of Tennessee Ray Looze, Indiana University Rachel Stratton-Mills, Northwestern UniversityRead the full story on SwimSwam: NCAA Approves Reinstatement of ‘B’ Finals, Modifies Event Lineup, for 2027 Championships
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