Midseason Invites On Deck: The vast majority of Power Five programs will race this weekend across the country at a variety of midseason invites, with marquee events taking place at Tennessee, Ohio State, Texas and NC State.
Also: Ahmed Hafnaoui leaves Indiana (for the time being), the University of Arizona considering seismic sports program cuts, and Northern Kentucky adds Division I men's and women's swimming.
Hafnaoui Aligns With Elite Distance Group In California
Indiana University freshman Ahmed Hafnaoui is no longer on campus in Bloomington, heading south to join The Swim Team (TST) in Lake Forest, Calif., for an unknown period of time.
The reigning Olympic champion in the men's 400 free and defending world champion in the 800 and 1500 free, Hafnaoui joined IU for the 2023-24 season—first arriving at Bloomington in the fall of 2022 but sitting out of the 22-23 season—and has competed in two meets for the Hoosiers thus far.
TST offered the following statement on his arrival:
"Ahmed’s trip to reconnect with friends was a warm reminder that the bonds we form in the pool are unbreakable. Just as we would graciously open our doors to any swimmer, we extend our support to Ahmed as he continues his training. It is our understanding that he continues to be enrolled at Indiana University. The Swim Team remains committed to fostering an environment where elite athletes can chase their Olympic dreams without compromise."
Indiana and Hafnaoui have both declined to elaborate on his future.
The Hoosiers are scheduled to compete Nov. 16-18 at the Ohio State Invitational in Columbus.
Arizona President: Tough Decisions Coming For Athletics Due To Financial Crisis
The University of Arizona is considering axing multiple sports programs as the school finds itself in a dire financial situation.
Arizona president Robert Robbins told faculty last week that “draconian cuts” were coming as the school deals with a $240 million miscalculation in its financial model.
Robbins said that the Wildcats’ athletic department has drained the university’s resources, noting a $55 million loan during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic has not been paid back fast enough. About $40 million of that money was meant to be repaid over 15 years with interest. Arizona’s athletic department reported a loss of $591,000 last year despite receiving $31.1 million from the university — the second-largest subsidy in school history.
“Everything is on the table in terms of dealing with athletics,” Robbins said. “This is an issue that is going to require a lot of tough decisions.”
Arizona is moving to the Big 12 next year, which could help its financial woes, though Robbins noted that schools in the conference sponsor 17 sports compared to the Wildcats' current total of 23.
The news comes as the Arizona swim & dive programs have struggled in recent years, with the men placing 4th (out of six teams) at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships and the women falling to 6th (out of eight teams) last season.
Read more here.
Northern Kentucky University Adds Division I Men's & Women's Swimming
Northern Kentucky University (NKU) announced the addition of six new sports programs last week, including men's and women's swimming.
The Division I school, located in the Cincinnati suburb of Highland Heights, Kentucky, also added men's and women's triathlon, men's volleyball and women's stunt, marking its first athletics expansion since 1997.
Northern Kentucky will grow to 22 varsity programs, matching the likes of Kentucky and Louisville and outpacing other Cincinnati-metro schools Xavier and the University of Cincinnati.
The swimming and triathlon programs (and women's stunt) will start competition in the 2024-25 season, and will compete in the Horizon League.
NKU is adding the programs with a strategy in place to increase enrollment, campus vitality, "and to continue to build excitement surrounding Northern Kentucky University."
"This is the first move in a multi-pronged enrollment strategy," said Board Chair Rich Boehne. "It will improve the lives of even more students and support the university financially as well. It's a win-win."
NKU already has an on-campus, 8-lane, 25-yard pool with separate aquatic facilities including a shallow water polo and an aqua-climbing rock wall.
Read more here.
Top NCAA Teams Set To Take On Midseason Invites This Week
Nearly all of SwimSwam's top 25 ranked teams will be in action this week at a number of different invitational meets, as squads suit up and rest up for the first time this season.
Top-ranked teams will converge at invites hosted at Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio State, Texas and NC State, while Texas A&M, SMU, Mizzou and Purdue will also host invites featuring at least one top-25 team.
The most notable missing team this week is Cal, the reigning men's national champions, who will compete at the Minnesota Invite in two weeks' time alongside the Golden Gophers. UNC will also be out of the mix this week and will race at the Princeton Invite at the end of November.
Below, find a list of where our top 25 teams are racing this weekend:
2023 TENNESSEE INVITE
- Date: November 15-17, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, UNC (diving), Virginia Tech (diving)
2023 UGA FALL INVITE
- Date: November 16-18, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Auburn, Florida State
2023 OSU INVITE
- Date: November 16-18, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: Louisville, Indiana, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Cal (diving)
2023 TEXAS INVITATIONAL
- Date: November 15-18, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: Texas, USC, Stanford, Wisconsin
2023 NC STATE/GAC INVITE
- Date: November 16-18, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: NC State, Arizona State, Duke, Virginia Tech
2023 ART ADAMSON INVITE
- Date: November 15-17, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: Texas A&M, LSU
2023 SMU INVITE
- Date: November 15-18, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: SMU, Miami (FL)
2023 MIZZOU INVITE
- Date: November 15-17, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: Mizzou
2023 PURDUE INVITE
- Date: November 16-18, 2023
- Top 25 Teams: Purdue
QUICK HITS
By Riley Overend on SwimSwam
Arizona president Robert Robbins said that "draconian cuts" will be required to address a $240 million miscalculation by the university's financial model.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Arizona President Says Quarter-Billion-Dollar Mistake Could Lead to Sport Cuts
By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
The reigning Olympic champion and current IU freshman is training at TST for the time being with his future up in the air in Bloomington.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Ahmed Hafnaoui Training With TST In California, Indiana Future Unclear
By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
The Big Red women took down Harvard for the second time in program history and the first since 1983 by a score of 152-148, also downing Dartmouth College.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Cornell Women Beat Harvard For First Time In 40 Years
By James Sutherland on SwimSwam
Bjorn Seeliger and the Cal Bears are scheduled to race at both the Ohio State Fall Invitational next weekend and the Minnesota Invitational two weeks later.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Where Are Top 25 Teams Racing During NCAA Midseason Invites?
By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
The Northern Kentucky University Norse will add six new sporting programs in the next two years, including men's and women's swimming for fall 2024.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Northern Kentucky University Adds New NCAA D1 Men’s and Women’s Swimming Programs
By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
After missing this year's World Championship team with an injury, Taylor Ruck is scheduled to race for Canada in Doha in 2024.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Canada Names 26 Swimmers to Roster for 2024 World Champs; No McIntosh or MacNeil
By Gold Medal Mel Stewart on SwimSwam
Katie Ledecky is on her fourth Olympics, which is a big milestone. That got me thinking, and then I got lost down a Ledecky rabbit hole.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Google Says Katie Ledecky’s The Greatest Female Swimmer Of All Time. Is She?
|