COVID-19 Aftermath: Uncertain Times Still Ahead for Swimming, Especially College Ranks

COVID-19 AFTERMATH: (From June’s Swimming World Magazine)

While the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to sports around the world, the full financial impact of the pandemic will not be known for some time—especially in college sports, which could lead to uncertain and even a fearful future for the sport of swimming.

The structure of the NCAA revolves around shared revenue, which is pivotal to non-revenue college sports such as swimming. With basketball’s March Madness being canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic—along with several other televised winter and spring championships—the NCAA lost hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, while the association’s conferences and member schools missed out on their share of the profits.

That will have a direct impact on every team at every college in the country. College conferences had petitioned the NCAA not to be punished if the school does not have enough sports to qualify as an NCAA participant—but the NCAA denied that request as a blanket policy and stated it would only consider that course of action on a case-by-case basis.

“That directly puts 40 teams in the crosshairs,” said Greg Earhart, executive director of the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA). “It is a pretty foundational threat to the existence of college swimming. The threat is from schools closing and decreased enrollment. Our Power Five (conferences) stand the most to lose if there is no football season.

“So much of it is beyond everyone’s control.”

That is because COVID-19 has caused so much damage around the world that retaining normalcy afterward is nearly impossible.

Council chairwoman Grace Calhoun, the athletic director at Pennsylvania, said, “Higher education is facing unique challenges, and the Division I leadership believes it’s appropriate to examine areas in which rules can be relaxed or amended to provide flexibility for schools and conferences. We will prioritize student-athlete well- being and opportunities balanced with reducing costs associated with administering college sports, but a blanket waiver of sport sponsorship requirements is not in keeping with our values and will not be considered.”

The NCAA depends on the basketball tournament for nearly all of its roughly $1.1 billion in normal annual revenue. The NCAA Board of Governors voted to allot $225 million to member schools,

“It comes down to our coaches stepping up to lead their departments through a difficult time. Several of our coaches have slashed their budgets as much as 60%. Every time they have done it, the response has been overwhelmingly positive from their administrators. Swimming will thrive at tuition-based institutions, but it is different every place. I feel good about having good coaches who realize what is really important in our sport.” —Greg Earhart, executive director, CSCAA a 62.5 percent decrease from the expected $600 million.

Since the pandemic, financial situations are rapidly changing at many universities with questions about when classes can resume… which means when the enrollment money will resume. That is the biggest factor when talking about college.

The NCAA Division I coaches took a huge step by accepting pay cuts.

WILL SWIMMING BE SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED BY COVID-19?

“My biggest fear is that the sport that we know will be significantly changed,” said Georgia swimming coach Jack Bauerle. “We don’t know how long this is going to go. The longer it goes, the worse it is for any sport, especially outside of the big three.

“There will be millions of losses with enrollment. This is going to rock the schools, and everything could be on hold. Once it happens to one, it will happen to another. It is unnerving at best. Things will definitely be different. We have a healthy reserve at Georgia, and we know a few other schools in the SEC do. But there are fewer athletic departments that work in the black year after year than people think.”

Jon Howell, head swim coach at Division III Emory University, added, “One thing with this situation, it has forced us to roll things more than we are comfortable with. It reminds us that even when you plan things, everything can be different. It is hard to predict where we are going to be a month from now.

“(I’m concerned with) the financial implications. The reality is that there were a lot of schools struggling before this happened. I think we are going to see some schools shut down. We will see some schools make some hard decisions, maybe cutting sports.

“Even the schools that keep all of the sports, the financial impacts will be big. It will impact our ability to schedule meets. Those are real concerns.”

Emory isn’t in immediate danger of that, Howell said, but there are still major obstacles for every school.

“Emory is mostly on solid ground, but they are predicting they will lose $100 million this year,” Howell said. “We will definitely be dealing with some budget cuts. But everything is still unfolding. If we are back in session in the fall, that is the best-case scenario. If not, that will change things dramatically.

“If they start pushing fall sports back, can schools accommodate extra sports overlapping or having a shortened season? Even if we do come back, and the season starts as normal, if there are social distancing restrictions, how do you handle that with practices and meets? There definitely is a lot to think about, and it is going to be an interesting challenge across the board.”

The lack of funds will affect every school at every division in the wake of COVID-19.

Earhart said, “Higher education was already in a bad place before this happened. Each year, 10 to 12 schools were closing because of enrollment, and that is going to continue.”

Urbana University in Ohio closed permanently in April.

“If schools disappear, they are not coming back. Period,” Earhart said. “This is so much bigger than swimming or college sports. No other country in the world has a college sports ecosystem the way we do. When we are facing a 22% unemployment rate and in a global depression for the next two to 10 years, swimming doesn’t sit high on the priority list for people.”

THERE IS HOPE AMID COVID-19

But there is hope for the future of NCAA swimming.

“The one thing that will allow campuses to open is a vaccine. If we don’t have campuses, we don’t have college sports,” Earhart said. “It comes down to our coaches stepping up to lead their departments through a difficult time. Several of our coaches have slashed their budgets as much as 60%. Every time they have done it, the response has been overwhelming positive from their administrators. Swimming will thrive at tuition-based institutions, but it is different every place.

“I feel good about having good coaches who realize what is really important in our sport.”

As for the swimmers, the COVID-19 pandemic has already affected everyone.

“Swimmers are used to hard work, and that comes with the territory,” Earhart said. “The one thing that is important is to highlight our coaches and kids and what they are doing. I no longer ask questions how they are doing because I know the answer. I am asking them what they are learning about their teams, and the word has been ‘appreciation.’”

Bauerle is hoping everyone has the proper “appreciation” for college swimming.

“If the dominoes start falling (in the wake of COVID-19), there will be less opportunities out there for athletes,” he said. “NCAA swimming is a feeder for international success. It is so important. Without that, it affects our Olympic hopes.”