NCAA Reforms Put Olympic Sports on the Ropes: What’s at Stake for Swimming and Beyond
The Knight Commission will convene Tuesday, May 20, for what may be one of the most consequential conversations in the history of college athletics. With NCAA President Charlie Baker on the agenda and Olympic sport leaders in attendance, the stakes are high—and for swimming, they’re personal. Formed in 1989, the Knight Commission is designed to promote reform in collegiate athletics.
Triggered by the $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement, the collegiate sports model is shifting fast. Schools are preparing to directly pay athletes. Scholarship limits are being lifted. And in the scramble to manage new financial pressures, Olympic sports are being cut.
Cal Poly eliminated men’s and women’s swimming this spring, citing a $450,000 annual burden from the settlement. Grand Canyon dropped its nationally ranked men’s volleyball team. Coaches from every corner of the country are already reducing rosters—often without notice. This isn’t theoretical. It’s happening now.
While football and men’s basketball will absorb the coming changes, non-revenue sports are left to fend for themselves. And the NCAA’s own data confirms the threat: more than 65% of U.S. Olympians have come through college programs.
What’s at Risk
Swimming & Diving is not alone. Programs across Olympic sports—from wrestling to rowing to track—are bracing for impact. Some will lose scholarships. Others will shrink teams. A few may be gone for good. Here’s a look at how Division I sports stack up under the pressure of the settlement:
| Sport | Revenue? | Programs (M/W) | Risk of Cuts/Roster Reductions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swimming & Diving | No | 137 / 200 | High (Cal Poly) |
| Track & Field / XC | No | 300+ / 300+ | High (roster limits underway) |
| Wrestling | No | 80 / 4 | High (historically vulnerable) |
| Water Polo | No | 29 / 37 | High (few programs, high cost) |
| Rowing (W) | No | 93 | High (caps hit walk-on depth) |
| Gymnastics | No | 12 / 4 | Medium–High (few programs remain) |
| Soccer | No | 212 / 349 | Medium–High (caps shrinking teams) |
| Baseball / Softball | Partial | 307 / 309 | Medium (cuts to baseball walk-ons) |
| Basketball | Yes / Moderate | 364 / 362 | Low (minimal changes) |
What We’re Looking For
The May 20 meeting will set the tone for how Olympic sports are—or aren’t—protected going forward. Swimming World will be in the room, listening to what Baker and others say not just about revenue sharing and governance, but about opportunity, equity, and the role of swimming and similar sports in the future of college athletics.
We know the scoreboard. We know the cuts. And we know what’s at stake.
Now it’s time to see who will stand up for the sports that built Team USA.
We’ll have a followup after the meeting with analysis and insight from Tuesday’s session. Until then, the message is clear:
The pipeline to the Olympics runs through college campuses. Let’s not shut it down.
