After a year experiment without B finals, the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Oversight Committee has decided to bring them back for 2027.
The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) recommended several changes in April that were adopted by the committee, with this return of B finals as the biggest change. The lack of consolation finals was met with immediate opposition from the swimmers, and many were outspoken about their removal and how it changed the meets in March.
“These changes represent an important step forward for collegiate swimming and diving,” CSCAA Executive Director Samantha Barany said in a news release. “They allow us to provide student-athletes with the championship experience they deserve and create a model that is prepared for the realities and opportunities of today’s landscape.
“Most importantly, we can begin exploring what the future of the championship can become. By working together, we have created a foundation that addresses today’s needs while opening the door for long-term innovation and continued progress for the sport.”
This news does not mean the NCAA Championships will be returning entirely to its old format. The B finals will all take place together at 6 p.m. each night of the championships, followed by the championship finals at 7 p.m.
Diving consolation finals will take place after swim prelims and the diving finals will take place during the finals portion and continue the split format introduced in 2026, although with some changes. Rather than having diving consols between championship swimming heats, the first three rounds will take place between the B and A finals and the last three will take place prior to the final relay of the night.
The meet will also introduce a new order for individual swimming events. The 1650 free remains on day one, as it was for the first time in 2026. For other events, the combinations used in 2025 and before will return but with the days of each event flipped. The 400 free relay moves to day two with the 200 free relay concluding the meet. Additionally, the day one morning session introduced in 2026 will be scrapped.
Here is how it breaks down:
Day 1: 1650 Freestyle, 200 Medley Relay and 800 Freestyle Relay
Day 2: 200 Backstroke, 100 Freestyle, 200 Breaststroke, 200 Butterfly, 1 Meter Diving and 400 Freestyle Relay
Day 3: 500 Freestyle, 200 Individual Medley, 50 Freestyle, 3 Meter Diving and 400 Medley Relay
Day 4: 100 Butterfly, 400 Individual Medley, 200 Freestyle, 100 Breaststroke, 100 Backstroke, Platform Diving and 200 Freestyle Relay
Other NCAA championship format changes
- All relays will take place in the evening session. Relays seeded 17th and higher will race during the consolation finals with the fastest two heats during championship finals. For the 200 medley and 800 free relay held on day one, all heats take place at night.
- As was the case prior to 2026, all award ceremonies will take place immediately after each A final.
- Qualification standards have been adjusted with the goal of 10% of invited student-athletes making the cut by winning their conference championship, a new qualification pathway introduced in 2026. Now, the men’s standard will be the 64th-best performance from last season, with the women’s standard at 88th-best. Swimmers who qualify for NCAAs by this route will only be selected to compete in their top-ranked event.