Marquette to Add Varsity Women’s Swimming Program
Marquette announced on Wednesday that it will add varsity women’s swimming as soon as the 2025-26 season.
Marquette, a Division I Jesuit institution in Milwaukee, would add swimming as its 17th varsity sports offering. It is currently at seven women’s teams, seven men’s and two spirit teams. It would not include the addition of diving.
Marquette is a full member of the Big East Conference. It would become the eighth member of that conference to offer women’s swimming and seamlessly integrate into its championships.
“Marquette Athletics is uniquely positioned to offer women’s swimming student-athletes a transformative experience, combining quality training and competition with a proven history of academic achievement for our student-athletes,” Vice President and Director of Athletics Mike Broeker said in a university statement. “Adding women’s swimming will improve gender equity in athletics and provide a revenue generation opportunity for the university, while offering a competitive Division I experience for our student-athletes. It’s a win-win for our department and university.”
The Golden Eagles have a new on-campus facility to train in, with the Wellness + Helfaer Recreation facility opened in January. It includes a six-lane pool, space for 150 spectators, locker rooms and offices. The school will begin a search for a coach.
“As we implement our sustainable, mission-aligned, multi-year enrollment strategy, Athletics has been a key partner in helping demonstrate how Marquette’s transformational educational experience can be accessible to a broad range of students, including our Division I student-athletes,” said Brian Troyer, vice president, enrollment management.
It’s the first addition of a sport for Marquette since men’s and women’s lacrosse in 2013. It is not planning to discontinue any sports, the university saying that women’s swimming “strengthens our commitment to gender equity in athletics” and will help “align athletic opportunities more closely with the makeup of our undergraduate student body.” Marquette’s primary sports are men’s and women’s basketball, which figure to draw the majority of investment in a post-House settlement landscape, in a Big East that is largely composed of basketball-first schools. Marquette hasn’t fielded a football team since 1960.
