Post NCAA Convention Thoughts

As I travel around the country, or even across town I invariably enter into conversations about the greatness of our sport. Many of those conversations are with athletic directors and college administrators. They say glowing things about how swimmers and divers represent the very best of college athletics; great grades, good leaders, high graduation rates and incredibly hard workers who get the most out of their student-athlete experience. This was no different when I attended the NCAA annual convention in San Diego in mid-January where I continued to hear praise about our sport.

While there were many items discussed at convention including praise of swimmers, the most prevalent discussions were about finance. Those "money" conversations included a few DII and DIII conferences considering a 10% reduction in allowable dates of competition to reign in ballooning travel budgets. The DIII President's council predicted a 4 million dollar increase in championship travel cost between the last fiscal year and fiscal year 2017-2018. On the DI level, the primary focus in San Diego was the redesign of the DI Governance Structure. At the crux of this discussion is the desire by the higher resourced Power 5 Conferences to have autonomy over certain legislation and not be held back by the other 27 DI conferences. Their desire for autonomy is fueled by money. The new multi-billion dollar 12-year ESPN Contract with the DI Football Bowl Subdivision Playoff System is worth, by many estimates, over 500 million dollars annually for the conferences involved during the life of the contract. Unlike the NCAA Basketball contract, this money will not go to the NCAA for redistribution to members, championships and programs. This new revenue will solely go to 10 conferences: the "Power-5" of the ACC, Big-10, Big-12, Pac-12 and SEC and the "Group of 5" conferences that includes the AAC, MWC, MAC, C-USA and Sun Belt. The revenue will be split approximately 70-30 between those two groups, plus a share to Notre Dame and the handful of other independent FBS schools.

I believe that at most we have 12 years, the life of this ESPN contract, to build the financial future of our programs. At the end of this contract, I have no doubt that the structure of college athletics will radically change. The larger conferences see autonomy as the mechanism to allow them to adapt to the new financial reality of college athletics and meet the needs of their institutions without having to engage in the current laborious legislative pathway or leave the NCAA. However, it is likely that at the conclusion of the 12 year contract these conferences will choose to separate from the NCAA, because the revenue for the next media deal will be more than sufficient to facilitate independence (especially with the inclusion of basketball). Until then, they will try to gain as much autonomy as possible within the NCAA. In order for this change in governance to pass, the autonomy they are seeking will likely be implemented as permissive legislation meaning other conferences would be able to adopt the same changes as the Power-5.

There are several provisions that would be pursued under a system that allowed for conference autonomy, but one example would be for conferences to provide full-cost of attendance for full scholarship athletes in the head-count sports and possibly others. Some estimates show that this could lead to a cost increase for institutions implementing such a change of 1.2-1.8 million dollars annually.* For the majority of the schools receiving the bulk of the new football revenue, that should be largely manageable without eliminating other sports. However for some in that group and those not in that high-resource group those costs will force significant budgetary choices. During the course of the discussion of the DI Redesign Dialogue attendees were allowed to ask questions of the steering committee. I asked the committee if "they felt that providing autonomy to the Big-5 Conferences would preserve broad-based athletic opportunities across the division?" The moderator acknowledged the question, but no clear answer was provided.

At the conclusion of the session, I spoke with several athletic directors, who all said plainly that the answer to my question was a simple "no". That $1.2-1.8 million will need to come from somewhere- either increased revenue or cost savings from somewhere else in a department budget. So while we have great student-athletes who excel in the classroom and the pool and outpace many other athletes in graduation rates, NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarships, Fulbright's and other incredible accomplishments, that simply is not going to be enough when financial push comes to shove. If we want to preserve our future it will be up to us, the swimming community. We must continue to build new programs in the NAIA and DII and DIII in the NCAA and make sure we strengthen our existing DI programs with strong financial and political backing from our alumni.

We will know more about the future of the NCAA when the Redesign Steering Committee presents it's final recommendations this spring, with a scheduled summer vote on the resulting governance plan to follow. In the meantime, we must come to terms with the fact that this does not mean more resources for swimming, even in the power conferences. Nor does any of this money go to support the DII and DIII Championships like the current NCAA Basketball contract. This is money that will bring greater scrutiny on college athletics and the treatment of athletes. Our opportunity in this new era is to ensure that we are the model teams in our departments for student-athlete success, fiscal responsibility, alumni connectivity and community engagement all while competing at the level of success at the conference and national level expected by our athletic directors. I know all of you know how to compete, how to enable success in the people you coach and how to be successful in your departments. However, if you are unsure of where to start your fundraising/friend-raising, or community engagement, or if you are looking for ways to enhance these elements of your coaching, please reach out to another coach who has had success. I am more than happy to help facilitate those connections. We also have partners who can help develop community connections and fundraising opportunities. The bottom line is that we will be responsible for the future of college swimming and diving and we must do everything we can to insure that future.

Joel Shinofield

Executive Director, CSCAA  

* An additional $6000-10,000 per athlete, per year, minimally 98 male head-count athletes in football and basketball, plus an equivalent number of female full-scholarship athletes for a total of 196 athletes

Jean Freeman was a pioneer in collegiate women's athletics who served as a mentor and leader to numerous women and men who have gone on to become head swimming coaches in the collegiate ranks. Jean Freeman swam for the Minnesota Gophers from 1968-72 and then went on to serve as an assistant coach with the team for one season before being named as the program's head coach in 1973. From there, Freeman took the program to new heights and national prominence. During her 31-year tenure in Gold Country, Freeman produced 27 winning seasons; won two Big Ten Championships in 1999 & 2000; won 208 dual meets; coached two National Champions; 14 Big Ten Champions; 175 All Americans; and most of all, enjoyed coaching over 1,000 student-athletes.

Furthermore, Freeman also coached nationally and internationally as well. In 1992, she was the assistant coach on the women's Junior National Team that won the Quebec Cup; in 1991 she helped coach the West team to a gold medal at the U.S. Olympic Festival; and in 2004 was on the World University Staff for the U.S. team that competed in South Korea. Jean served as the Minnesota senior chair for USA swimming for many years, was a key member of the NCAA Swimming and Diving Rules and Championship Committee as well as a member of the CSCAA Board of Directors.

Freeman was one of the first full-time female collegiate swimming coaches at the NCAA Division I level. Among her many honors and accolades, Freeman was a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (1984, 1986, 1996, 1999); collected over 20 American Swimming Coaches Certificate of Excellence Awards; and was inducted into the Minnesota Swim Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1999 she was the recipient of the National Collegiate and Scholastic Swimming Trophy, awarded annually by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America. The award is the highest honor in collegiate swimming coaching and Freeman was the first female to win the award in its 41-year history.  

In addition to being a highly successful coach, Jean Freeman was a difference maker in the college swimming community.  She showed up, spoke up, and got involved to do what was best for our sport. Her influence can be seen on pool decks across the country where she is remembered by many coaches as a mentor, which is why these scholarships in her honor are such a fitting way to honor her memory.

Jean Freeman CSSCA Convention Scholarship Application:

Applicants must have a minimum of 2 years assistant coaching experience and submit a completed application form. Applications will be reviewed and selections made by a committee of THE SUMMIT (The Summit for Empowering Women in Swimming), a group in which Jean Freeman was a founding member. Selections will be approved and announced by the CSCAA Board of Directors.

Applications should be emailed by February 28, 2014 to: joel@cscaa.org 

Or, mail to: Joel Shinofield

                           Executive Director, CSCAA

                           1585 Wesleyan Drive, Unit A

                           Norfolk, VA 23502

2014 JEAN FREEMAN SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION

Please include your name, institution, NCAA division, length of coaching in current position along with 1-2 pages describing your coaching philosophy and rationale for consideration for the Jean Freeman Scholarship. You may also include a copy of your current resume.

CHAMPIONSHIP MOTIVATION IDEAS

by Bob Steele

PSYCHE SET - About a week before the championships have everyone do a best event broken swim. We would do these with 10 seconds rest, foot-touches, starting and stopping the watch for an accurate time. Do the same for relays, starting and stopping the watch when resting, but just hit the split on exchanges. Relay swimmers get excited, but use different people so others know they could swim. Do broken 200 relays w/10 sr/25. Stop the watch on the 25 hand/foot touch BUT only the split on the exchanges. Yell out the splits as they go.

WAVE SET - Early in the taper create waves by event, i.e. 500 - 200 - Fly - Back - Breast - 50 and swim through the waves 3 or 4 times. It's a great long rest set that focuses on attention to detail. It gives the coach time to watch individuals, make comments and encourages teammate motivation.

COMMITMENT BANNER - Get long banner paper at Michael's and using bold markers place each swimmer's name, events and goal times for which they've been training. Leave space for the swimmer to record actual times. At your post-final session each night anyone that swam that day stands in front of the squad and records their actual time performed that day. Make certain they know it's going to happen while training so they buy into training/practices. It's a pressure cooker for some. Email; fastswimmin@gmail.com and you'll get a picture.

I BELIEVE - The day before your championships start have every swimmer stand in front of the squad and on the whiteboard write I BELIEVE and sign their name. Then present a championship meet T-shirt. Dick Hannula - Hans Paddles.com.   

CHAMPIONSHIP MEET DINNER - Create either team or individual goals for the championship meet and where rules permit take the team to a fancy restaurant for dinner after the meet. This can be done a week afterward with only the swimmers and coach or immediately after the finals the last day with parents and friends attending.   The coach stands, introduces each swimmer and how they contributed to the success of the team. Conducting this at the meet consumes time used for undesirable behavior.

RACE THE AMERICAN RECORD: Times were done swimming in presently approved suits for more accurate comparisons.

   4X{P3x100@1:20 (short rest to set-up an O2 debt)

        {4x50(BO)@1:00

Swim best event and add the four 50's for a 200 time. Swimmer tells coach the seconds below (-) or above (+) the record.  On successive rounds swimmers say, "faster/slower" and the seconds over/under the record.  Use lifetime bests or team records if the NCAA records are too fast. 

Getting Ready for the Championship Meet - About 3-4 weeks out from the championship meet hand out a 4x6 index card to each swimmer and ask them to do the following.

1. For each session of the meet, write your warm-up and warm down for each event.

Write your goal time for the preliminaries and finals including your splits for each event.

It is important that the swimmer thinks about the preliminary session as well as the final session, including relays.

2. The coach then sits down with each swimmer and reviews their card especially the warm-ups and when they occur, emphasizing the importance of getting ready to swim fast.

3. Review their goal times and splits with them and make them explain them for each race. It is their road map.

4. Do broken swims over that period of time with each swimmer doing their meet warm-up in preparation for their designated broken swims.

It is a great rehearsal activity. At the championship meet, each swimmer is responsible for team warm-up, race warm-up and preparation allowing the coach to work with swimmers needing help.     -Mike Stromberg.

We Believe in YOU -

Have the whole team sit in a circle and give each swimmer a 3" X 5" index card.  The swimmer places their name on the top of the card and passes it to the left.  The next swimmer writes down something on the card that impresses them about the person whose name is on top, signs their name and then passes it to the next person on the left.  That person must write another impressive thing about the person on top without repeating what's already been written.  The cards continue around the circle until every swimmer has their card back with tons of appreciative, constructive, positive, encouraging, words from teammates.  Most swimmers didn't even know everyone cared nor had an opinion, much more a constructive one.

I Believe Day- At a motivational team meeting the day before a championship meet have EACH swimmer on the team stand before their teammates and make a verbal commitment to contribute to the team's success and achieving a championship goal. EACH swimmer signs the chalkboard below the words I BELIEVE. The coaches then hand EACH swimmer a cap and T-shirt.                   -Dick Hannula

Taper Chart Sample - This was given to the team for the final three weeks of training. Note the date, day, and count-down along with yardage, dry-land and training group variances.

FOR MORE IDEAS CHECK OUT GAMES-GIMMICKS-CHALLENGES for Swimming Coaches by Bob Steele

• Corrie Falcon, University of California San Diego
• Murray Harber, Murray has a Bachelors of Science Degree in Education in Human Performance and Sports Studies from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. His work history includes stints as a speed and strength coach, fitness specialist, corporate fitness center manager, employee wellness program manager, coordinator and consultant. Murray has worked with all levels of athletes from novice to Olympian. 
• George Kennedy, Johns Hopkins
• Russell Mark, USA Swimming
• Teri McKeever, Cal
• Dave Salo, University of Southern California
• Steve Schaffer, Grand Canyon University
• Celia Slater, Alliance of Women Coaches
• Sheila Taormina, Keynote Speaker, US Olympian

The goal of the CSCAA rankings committees is to produce an in-season poll of the best-performing teams in rank order at the time of each poll. The poll is not designed to predict the results of the NCAA Championship, but rather which teams would win head-to-head against other teams in the country.

You can find the latest team rankings on the rankings page of the CSCAA Website 

Latest Polls:

NAIA Men 

NAIA Women 

Division III Men and Women The final DIII Poll will be released on 2/5/2014 

Division II Men and Women  The January DII Rankings will be released on 1/31/2014

Division I Men 

Division I Women The January rankings for DI Women will be released 1/30/2014 

Thank you to our partner Swimming World Magazine for their support of the CSCAA Team Rankings.

NAIA Women's Championship Page 

NAIA Men's Championship Page 

NCAA DI Championship Administrative Page  

Online Meet Entries Due:

Division I Men: Monday, March 10th - 11:59 p.m. Eastern time 

NCAA DII Championship Administrative Page    

Online Meet Entries Due:

Division II: Monday, February 24th, - 11:59 p.m. Pacific time