There is a longstanding and traditional link between professional swimming and US collegiate sports.
Some of the world’s most successful and decorated swimming stars honed their craft as student-athletes, with the likes of multi-medal-winning Olympian and Stanford University alum Katie Ledecky and seven-time NCAA Champion, University of Florida’s Ryan Lochte.
But, just what does it take to secure a swimming scholarship with a college or university in the United States?
Like most sports within the NCAA-governed athletics associations, Swimming scholarships are awarded on an equivalency basis, which means each swimming program has an allocated pot of money they can draw from to recruit and award percentage-level funding to prospective student-athletes each season.
Men’s Swimming scholarship limits within NCAA Division I are set at 9.9 with an average team of around 28 swimmers. For NCAA Division II teams, a scholarship allocation of 8.1 is available and NAIA teams can fund up to 8 scholarships. NCAA D-III relies solely on academic and need-based funding, with no athletic budget available.
The number of institutions that offer men’s swimming programs across the US collegiate landscape is as follows:
- NCAA D1 has around 145 schools with men’s swimming programs.
- NCAA D2 has around 60 schools with men’s swimming programs.
- NCAA D3 has around 200 schools with men’s swimming programs.
- NAIA has around 24 schools with men’s swimming programs.
- NJCAA has around 68 junior colleges with men’s swimming programs.
Women’s Swimming scholarship limits within NCAA Division I are set at 14. For NCAA Division II teams, a scholarship allocation of 8.1 is available and NAIA teams can fund up to 8 scholarships.
The number of institutions that offer women’s swimming programs across the US collegiate landscape is as follows:
- NCAA D1 has around 200 schools with women’s swimming programs.
- NCAA D2 has around 77 schools with women’s swimming programs.
- NCAA D3 has around 242 schools with women’s swimming programs.
- NAIA has around 31 schools with women’s swimming programs.
- NJCAA has around 77 junior colleges with women’s swimming programs.
Although each school will assess swimmers using their own bespoke criteria and suitability to the overall team, a general guide for how your own timings can be compared to the standard at each level is below: (the timings displayed are in US standard short course yards. If you want to convert your own timings from short or long-course meters and compare, you can use this converter tool)
Men’s Standard Timings
|
Event |
Tier 1 (Elite NCAA D1) |
Tier 2 (Elite NCAA D2-D3, Top Mid NCAA D1) |
Tier 3 (Elite NAIA, Mid-strong NCAA D2/D3, Lower Mid NCAA D1) |
Tier 4 (Low-average D2/D3, Low-strong NAIA) |
|
50 Freestyle |
19.9 and faster |
20.5 – 20.9 |
21.1 – 21.4 |
21.7 – 23.9 |
|
100 Freestyle |
43.8 and faster |
44.9 – 45.4 |
45.9 – 46.5 |
47.8 – 50.9 |
|
200 Freestyle |
1.36.3 and faster |
1.38.5 – 1.39.8 |
1.40.9 – 1.41.8 |
1.43.8 – 1.51.9 |
|
500 Freestyle |
4.23.3 and faster |
4.27.9 – 4.31.5 |
4.35.5 – 4.37.1 |
4.42.8 – 5.09.9 |
|
1650 Freestyle |
15.26.1 and faster |
15.36.9 – 15.46.9 |
15.55.9 – 16.05.0 |
16.24.4 – 17.59.9 |
|
100 Fly |
47.4 and faster |
48.9 – 49.9 |
50.5 – 51.1 |
52.1 – 55.9 |
|
200 Fly |
1.46.7 and faster |
1.49.9 – 1.52.1 |
1.52.9 – 1.53.7 |
1.55.1 – 2.09.9 |
|
100 Backstroke |
47.7 and faster |
49 – 50.8 |
51.5 – 52.1 |
53.4 – 56.9 |
|
200 Backstroke |
1.45.0 and faster |
1.48.5 – 1.50.6 |
1.51.9 – 1.52.8 |
1.54.9 – 2.09.9 |
|
100 Breaststroke |
54.3 and faster |
55.9 – 57.4 |
58.1 – 58.7 |
59.8 – 1.04.9 |
|
200 Breaststroke |
1.58.4 and faster |
2.02.5 – 2.05.7 |
2.07.5 –1.53.5 |
2.09.7 – 2.19.9 |
|
200 IM |
1.46.8 and faster |
1.49.5 – 1.51.5 |
1.53.5 – 1.55.1 |
1.57.1 – 2.09.9 |
|
400 IM |
3.51.5 and faster |
3.55.9 – 4.00.2 |
4.04.9 – 4.07.6 |
4.11.2 – 4.29.9 |
Women’s Standard Timing
|
Event |
Tier 1 (Elite NCAA D1) |
Tier 2 (Elite NCAA D2-D3, Top Mid NCAA D1) |
Tier 3 (Elite NAIA, Mid-strong NCAA D2/D3, Lower Mid NCAA D1) |
Tier 4 (Low-average D2/D3, Low-strong NAIA) |
|
50 Free |
21.7 and faster |
22.9 – 23.5 |
23.9 – 24.1 |
24.5 – 27.9 |
|
100 Free |
47.3 and faster |
49.9 – 50.9 |
51.9 – 52.1 |
53.1 – 1.00.9 |
|
200 Free |
1.43.2 and faster |
1.47.9 – 1.49.7 |
1.50.9 – 1.52.6 |
1.53.8 – 2.09.9 |
|
500 Free |
4.36.3 and faster |
4.45.9– 4.53.1 |
4.59.9 – 5.03.5 |
5.05.1 – 5.59.9 |
|
1650 Free |
15.53.5 and faster |
16.29.9– 16.46.2 |
16.59.9 – 17.14.4 |
17.25.7 – 19.59.9 |
|
100 Fly |
51.0 and faster |
53.5 – 56.1 |
56.5 – 57.5 |
58.2 – 1.04.9 |
|
200 Fly |
1.53.5 and faster |
1.59.9– 2.02.7 |
2.03.9 – 2.05.0 |
2.08.9 – 2.24.9 |
|
100 Back |
51.0 and faster |
53.9– 56.1 |
57.1 – 58.1 |
59.0 – 1.05.9 |
|
200 Back |
1.50.5 and faster |
1.57.9– 2.01.3 |
2.03.5 – 2.05.0 |
2.07.2 – 2.24.9 |
|
100 Breast |
58.8 and faster |
1.01.9 – 1.03.7 |
1.04.9 – 1.06.0 |
1.06.9 – 1.14.9 |
|
200 Breast |
2.06.9 and faster |
2.14.9 – 2.19.8 |
2.21.5 –2.22.7 |
2.24.7 – 2.39.9 |
|
200 IM |
1.54.3 and faster |
1.59.9 – 2.03.1 |
2.05 – 2.08.4 |
2.09.3 – 2.24.9 |
|
400 IM |
4.04.1 and faster |
4.14.9 – 4.23.3 |
4.27.5 – 4.30.7 |
4.33.4 – 5.09.9 |
Securing a swimming scholarship with FirstPoint USA
As the world’s leading sports scholarship consultancy, we have over 20 years of experience in recruiting and placing swimmers in some of the top programs in the United States, with world-class facilities to rival anywhere else across the globe.
FirstPoint USA has a dedicated team of specialist talent management consultants who have assisted thousands of young athletes to propel their athletic and academic careers through successful partnerships with top U.S institutions. In addition to this, we also have robust processes and support tools in place to help you understand the intricacies of your scholarship options, so we’re with you every step of the way.
For more information on the life-changing opportunities for young men and women that a swimming scholarship in the USA can provide, why not get in touch with our recently-appointed Senior Swimming Consultant, Team GB Swimming Coach Matt Puddy: matt.puddy@firstpointusa.com
FirstPoint USA is an international scouting service, providing recruitment services to hundreds of NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA member institutions seeking to identify the very best in overseas talent, both male and female.
The company was founded in 2001 by former University of Cincinnati All-American and Hall of Fame inductee, Andrew Kean, and evaluates over 100,000 prospective student-athletes, competing in over 20 different sports, across 187 countries each year.
