713 swimming, diving teams recognized for classroom success
Thirty-three teams achieved Scholar All-America status for the first time, reflecting the continued growth of swimming and diving.
“The narrative is that swimming and diving is on the decline, but in reality, colleges and universities have added 100 teams since 2015,” according to CSCAA Executive Director Greg Earhart. “Presidents and athletic directors recognize that swimmers and divers are excellent students and ambassadors for their institutions.”Liberty University (Division I) had the highest GPA of all women’s teams. The Flames earned an average GPA of 3.79. Among men’s programs, MIT (Division III) took the top spot with a 3.78.
Women’s divisional leaders included Biola (3.72) and Saint Catherine’s (3.75) in Division II and III respectively. SCAD-Savannah (3.61) and Indian River (3.45) were tops among NAIA and NJCAA women’s programs.
For the men, Grand Canyon (3.68) repeated last Fall’s ranking as the top Division I men’s program. In Division II Bridgeport led the way with a 3.72. Like the women, SCAD-Savannah’s men (3.48) were number one among NAIA programs. Iowa Central (3.10) topped the NJCAA.
Teams excelled both in the school and the pool with 89% of teams in the CSCAA TYR Top 25 earning the honor. Those teams included the top-ranked men’s teams of California (3.05), Indianapolis (3.34) and Denison (3.26). Also earning the honor were the top-ranked women’s programs of Texas (3.55), Queens (NC) (3.63), and (3.31).
To earn the honor, teams were required to post a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the Fall Semester and maintain a roster of 12 or more student-athletes.
Members of the CSCAA Scholar All-America Committee include Paul Richards, Chair (Dickinson), Brent Summers (Willamette), Gwynn Harrison (Bridgewater), Hollie Bonewit-Cron (Miami-OH), Jason Hite (Indianapolis), Jonathan Jordan (Lincoln College), Jerod Simek (Truman State), Milania Socha (Dartmouth), Nikki Rosen (Davis & Elkins), RC Weston (Alfred State).
For more information on the Scholar All-America and see a list of award recipients from all divisions, click here.