Indiana Diving Coach Drew Johansen Releases Letter Defending NCAA Changes
Long-time Indiana diving coach Drew Johansen released an open letter on Tuesday defending the changes to the NCAA Championships, calling them the result of “forward thinking”.
Johansen backed the thought process that went into the changes, harping five different times on the format change’s effect on the Championships as a television product. He derided the old format as one that was “not friendly to live TV.”
“This broadcast now serves as a proof of concept that we can present to networks to market our product and strengthen our position within our universities, conferences, and the NCAA,” Johansen wrote, in all bold.
Johansen’s take runs directly counter to many, many responses from swimmers at meet who were not enamored with the new format, which included different event lineups, the elimination of B finals and split diving finals.
Johansen shifts to an ominous tone that sounds like a warning for those who don’t get in line.
“We need to stay aware that the final outcome of the “House Settlement” is yet to be determined. Your daughters, your sons, and our coaches all benefit immensely from the schools, conferences, and the NCAA. We receive career opportunities in coaching, facilities for training. Your children receive scholarships for education, medical care, room, board, and much, much more. However, this support could be jeopardized if we fail to evolve with our schools, conferences, and network partners to enhance the value of the sport that is so passionately supported by the American college system.”
NCAA Meet Controversy
- CSCAA Response to B Finals: New NCAA Format ‘Requires Adjustment’ in Some Areas
- ‘The Biggest Bummer:’ NCAA’s Experimental Cut of B Finals Met with Widespread Criticism
The full letter is available here:
An open letter to NCAA Division 1 swimming and diving athletes, coaches, parents, and fans.
This year’s National Championships is different; we have a different event order, gaps in the evening program that we are not used to, no B-Final, interrupted events, and awards ceremonies at the end of the evening. These were not unforeseen mistakes. There was a lot of forward thinking that went into making these changes. I think it is important to understand the reasons behind these changes from one coach’s point of view.
At last year’s NCAA Championships, coaches convened with the CSCAA and top media professionals to explore ways to make our most significant event of the year available for live TV. The current live stream and delayed broadcast of the NCAA Championships is good for the sport; however, we need to do so much more. We don’t want to restrict our exposure to the American public or hinder the growth of NCAA swimming and diving due to a format that is not friendly to live TV.
This year, we implemented a new format specifically designed to be an exciting live broadcast that can be accommodated within a two-hour time slot on live TV. You can watch a replay of the live broadcast on ESPN in its archives. The broadcast shows the women’s meet concluding with thrilling drama and historic performances. The University of Virginia achieved a dominant sixth consecutive NCAA team title, while Texas and Stanford engaged in an epic battle that ultimately determined second place in the last 2 events of the evening. All along the way, individual national champions and elite performances were celebrated every 10 minutes as each event was contested. It was an incredible show with tremendous storytelling representing multiple schools and conferences that the world should have witnessed live on TV. I recommend you watch the broadcast as it was captured in its live form. This is the ultimate goal of the new format: to be able to tell those stories as the events unfold live on TV.
This broadcast now serves as a proof of concept that we can present to networks to market our product and strengthen our position within our universities, conferences, and the NCAA.
We need to stay aware that the final outcome of the “House Settlement” is yet to be determined. Your daughters, your sons, and our coaches all benefit immensely from the schools, conferences, and the NCAA. We receive career opportunities in coaching, facilities for training. Your children receive scholarships for education, medical care, room, board, and much, much more. However, this support could be jeopardized if we fail to evolve with our schools, conferences, and network partners to enhance the value of the sport that is so passionately supported by the American college system.
In my hotel room now, and I can’t wait to see what kind of live show the men will produce for us this year; it will be hard to beat what the women gave us. I have been fortunate to witness this excitement for 30+ years. If we can get this story told live in a 2-hour show on a major network, it will make the two Olympic sports we love so much (swimming and diving) better for everyone.
Drew Johansen
Head Diving Coach
Indiana University
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