By Madeline Folsom on SwimSwam
Terin Frodyma contributed to this report.
The NCAA swimming and diving season began weeks in the past with many groups already swimming their first meets, and the NCAA introduced as we speak that they accepted proposed modifications to the Division I NCAA Championship format for the upcoming 2026 Championships.
In July, the Faculty Swimming and Diving Coaches Affiliation of America (CSCAA) submitted a two-part proposal to the NCAA Sport Oversight Fee that consisted of quite a few modifications to the present NCAA Championship mannequin. These modifications included eradicating ‘B’ finals, rescheduling the competitors to optimize broadcasting, shuffling the order of occasions, and introducing a brand new qualification mannequin.
The proposal was initially tabled in August as a consequence of organizational modifications within the NCAA, and the 2025-26 season began a number of weeks in the past.
Although the CSCAA instructed SwimSwam in August that there have been no anticipated modifications for the 2026 Championships, the newly fashioned NCAA Swimming and Diving Oversight Committee accepted the proposal as we speak to take impact for this season.
The accepted modifications are supposed to modernize and broaden the school swimming and diving panorama, and they’re precisely as we reported again in July.
One of many modifications we’ll see is an up to date order of occasions supposed to optimize viewing and put “high-profile” occasions on the final a number of days. The meet will now consist of 4 prelims/finals periods with day one prelims that includes the mile, 200 medley relay, and 800 free relay athletes and groups which are seeded exterior the highest eight.
Presently, no occasions are being added to the meet. A variation of the ‘B’ choice for the usual order of occasions was the formally accepted order, with potential for slight modifications within the coming days.
Notice: The occasion order was modified barely from initially reported. We’ve got up to date it.
Order of Occasions (Finals)
Day Of Competitors
Outdated Format
New Format
Day 1
200 Medley Relay
800 Freestyle Relay
Day 2
500 Freestyle
100 Butterfly
200 Particular person Medley
50 Freestyle
One-Meter Diving
200 Freestyle
200 Freestyle Relay
100 Breaststroke
Day 3
100 Butterfly
100 Backstroke
400 Particular person Medley
200 Breaststroke
200 Freestyle
100 Breaststroke
500 Freestyle
100 Backstroke
50 Freestyle
Three-Meter Diving
400 Medley Relay
Day 4
1650 Freestyle
200 Backstroke
100 Freestyle
100 Freestyle
200 Breaststroke
200 Butterfly
200 Butterfly
200 Backstroke
Platform Diving
400 Freestyle Relay
Last Scoring for ninth–sixteenth Locations to Come from Prelims
One of the crucial instant and noticeable modifications is available in the way in which comfort locations are scored. Within the morning prelims, swimmers and divers in ninth–sixteenth positions will now not compete in a nighttime B-final for comfort placement; their finishes will as a substitute be decided by morning preliminary occasions alone.
Relays will compete as a Timed Finals occasion with the highest eight seeds swimming within the finals session and all different groups competing within the morning.
The transfer goals to offer extra significance to the morning swims and supply the primetime broadcast a deal with championship races for nationwide titles. The highest 8 from prelims will nonetheless advance to finals.
Broadcast-Pushed Rescheduling: Diving Cut up, Awards Moved, Occasions re-ordered
Diving finals might be break up into two segments—three rounds early within the session, and three extra later—providing shorter, extra digestible protection home windows and giving swimmers relaxation between occasions. Award ceremonies may also be moved out of the session stream to assist broadcasts run cleaner and with fewer interruptions.
The meet program has additionally been modified, with extra high-profile occasions scheduled for the final a number of days. In keeping with the report, the modifications “are strategically designed to raise the championship’s linear broadcast potential with out negatively impacting student-athletes” and that “marquee occasions will now anchor the ultimate days of competitors.”
Whereas ESPN doesn’t share viewers numbers for its streaming occasions, in-person attendance on the meet traditionally has grown all through the meet, peaking on Friday and Saturday evenings.
New Qualification Mannequin: Win-and-In With a Commonplace
The brand new format transforms the qualification process, instituting a single NCAA Championship normal. Beneath the brand new guidelines, any swimmer who wins their convention title and achieves a nationwide qualifying time within the occasion will robotically qualify for the NCAA Championships. The descending order listing process will proceed for use for all different entries, although the concept of an “A” and a “B” normal has been eradicated.
With the aim to protect meet measurement and broaden institutional entry, the qualifying occasions have been decided by averaging the 72nd-best time over the earlier three years except the present normal is quicker than the three-year common. You may see all the requirements right here.
Diving qualification stays unchanged and continues to depend on Zone meets for qualification requirements.
Learn the total story on SwimSwam: NCAA Approves Adjustments to 2026 Division I Championships Weeks After Season Begins
