CSCAA Survey: College Coaches Overwhelmingly Support Return of B Finals to NCAA Championships
If the majority of Division I swimming and diving coaches have their way, the absence of consolation finals from the NCAA Championships will be one-and-done. The College Swim Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) announced the results of a survey taken during and after the recent national meets, and the vast majority want consolation heats back in the mix for next year.
On the question of reinstating B finals, 91% of coaches supported or strongly supported such a measure. Of the remaining group, 4% were neutral or unsure while 5% disagreed or strongly disagreed. The poll also asked coaches whether they would be willing to have B finals conducted immediately prior to the finals session, and 50% of coaches supported that, with 27% neutral and 23% disagreeing.
The removal of the consolation heats from this year’s championship program was met with scathing criticism across the board. Fans at both the women’s and men’s meets chanted “Bring Back B,” and Olympic medalists Torri Huske and Bella Sims were among those campaigning for swimmers who finished between ninth and 16th place to have opportunities to race at night.
Also this year, a new format for relays put all but the fastest heats of each relay in the morning session while the top heat competed at night. Asked if they were satisfied with the format, 56% of coaches disagreed. In a follow-up question, 62% agreed with the claim that all relay heats should be conducted in the same session.
These most recent championship meets marked the first time a pathway existed for swimmers from smaller conferences to receive automatic bids for the national meet. Any conference champion meeting the NCAA qualifying time automatically received an invitation, and that change seems likely to stick around. Among surveyed coaches, 87% understood the process and rationale, 92% understood the NCAA selection process and 69% were in favor of multiple pathways for qualification.
The final major change to this year’s NCAAs came in diving, with the finals of each event split into two sections of three rounds each. Opinions on this were split. On the question of whether this format supported competitive success, 27% of coaches agreed while 25% disagreed, with the remaining 48% neutral or unsure. As for whether diving took an appropriate amount of time, the field was again split: 23% in agreement, 36% disagreeing and 41% neutral.
A follow-up poll took recommendations for future NCAA Championships. The most popular suggestion was a combined swimming and diving championship with diving taking place before the swimming competition. That format was used at this year’s ACC Championships.
Further policies supported by at least half of respondents were continuing with a combined swimming and diving championship, discontinuing last chance meets, allowing access for student-athletes bumped by automatic qualifiers, having an alternative diving qualification process and expanding scoring. Additionally, 48% of coaches supported a single-semester season, with championship meets held in December, while 46% want 50-yard stroke events added to college championship meets.
This survey included responses from 214 Division I coaches, 43% of them head coaches, 45.8% associate head coaches or assistant coaches and 11.2% diving coaches. Almost half of the respondents were from Power 4 universities, and 70.6% had swimmers and/or divers qualify for the NCAA Championships.
According to a release from the CSCAA, the organization plans to put together a more comprehensive report and draft further recommendations for future NCAA Championships. The goal of the revamped championships had been further broadcast exposure, and a meeting with ESPN has taken place. According to the CSCAA, “those conversations are ongoing with the continued aim of securing linear coverage for the Division I Championships as soon as possible.”
A CSCAA Division I breakout session will be held at the organization’s annual meetings on Monday, May 4, and the organization hopes for representation from staffs of all Division I programs at the meeting. The statement notes that “any recommendation that receives broad support will be finalized in May and presented to the NCAA in June.”
The full report from the CSCAA is available here.