olympic sports. It took a lot of educating and learning on my part. But I have grown to love to the sport of swimming, while having no real ties to the sport outside of colleagues.


In a sport like swimming, the pinnacle is NOT the NCAA Championships (much to the dismay of AD's). It is the Olympics. Can a program/coach get a kid there? That is the main reason why BYU has lost out on top LDS recruits who go to other schools. It isn't the 'facility,' but rather the community. Schools like Arizona, Texas A&M, Tennessee, etc., have all grabbed top LDS recruits simply due to the fact that BYU hasn't placed a kid on the US National Team (they are able to pull a lot of international kids, and they have a DR Olympian who is very fast and talented). As Rockhound said, maybe if BYU was more nationally recognized in swimming it would change... but ultimately the fix isn't just one thing.

So many people don't realize that BYU Swimming will never win a National Championship. Teams like USC, Florida State, Arizona State, Arizona, LSU, Alabama even struggle staying in the top 10-15. Cal, Texas, florida and Indiana basically rule college swimming. BYU finishing in the top 20 would be cause for a celebration.