PHOENIX, Arizona, June 5. TOMORROW, the NCAA Swimming and Diving Committee is scheduled to discuss a recent College Swim Coaches Association of America unofficial proposal to update the NCAA selection process at the Division I level.
An unofficial proposal, spearheaded by a CSCAA committee chaired by Notre Dame Associate Men's Head Coach Matt Tallman, was first presented during a series of talks in San Antonio, Texas, at the CSCAA convention. The concept calls for relay selections to be done in addition to individual selection up to the NCAA participant cap created each year (currently 270 swimmers and divers for the men's meet, and 322 swimmers and divers for the women's meet).
While the NCAA funds all invited participants under the current setup, this proposal would allow for member-institutions to fund their own relay alternates to the meet based on a separate set of criteria depending on how many relays a school has qualified via an NCAA A standard. This would setup the potential of increased participation, and would eliminate the chance of first alternates being left home due to administrative errors regarding relay alternates, as detailed in a Swimming World feature on Oregon State's Anna Crandall.
Full unofficial proposal language
Full unofficial proposal presentation