On the same day as the NCAA revealed that the women's meet would be hosted in the far north, they also let the Texas Longhorns know that they would be hosting the 2014 Men's NCAA Swimming & Diving Championship meet.

The Lee & Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center received its name in the mid-90′s, but first opened in 1979. Despite its age (and thanks in part to a $3 million renovation in 2001), it remains as one of the most renowned permanent courses in the world.

The cavernous facility features a 50-meter pool with a pair of bulkheads in the middle. One of the coolest and most unique features of this pool, though it won't necessarily be on display at this meet, is that those bulkheads are fully automatic and actually raise and lower from the ceiling. Other geek-appealing features are dual timing boards that gives meet hosts a lot of flexibility in displaying results – leading to a better overall fan experience.

The center has a two-level grandstand that can seat 2,500, plus plenty of deck space to accommodate the athletes. Like the University Aquatic Center at Minnesota, this pool has hosted more than its fair share of high-level meets. That includes a stop on the annual USA Swimming Grand Prix circuit, the 1988 U.S. Olympic Trials, and 6 Men's NCAA Championship meets (plus 1 hosted in Austin in 1951, before this pool was built). Most recently, the Texas Swim Center played host to the 2011 women's NCAA Championship meet.

The one drawback of this facility for a college meet is that the diving equipment, while spectacular with its own offset tank, is two-pools'-width away from the spectator seating.

The city of Austin offers a great cultural experience, plus a huge local swimming community that will surely lead to packed stands for all three days of this meet. Even better, the Longhorns will be in the hunt for a top three finish, which should draw plenty of local interest.

As such a focal point of the American swimming scene, hosting the Grand Prix, this winter's Nationals and Junior Nationals, plus many other high-level meets every year, most of the athletes will be fairly comfortable in this pool. Not to mention that such a huge portion of the NCAA Championship athletes swim high school in the state of Texas, where the State Championship meet is held there every year. All-told, combined with one of the fastest courses in the country, we could see some great times.

USC has set the groundbreaking ceremony on its $16 million overhaul to the McDonald's Swim Stadium for Friday, November 2nd at 11 A.M. The stadium is being renamed after Fred Uytengsu as the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

Utengsu graduated from USC in 1983 and was a Captain of the swim team during his time with the Trojans. At the behest of him (and specifically his $8 million donation), the actual pool will be donned with the name of Peter Daland: the USC coach for an astounding 45 years from 1958 until 1992, and one of the most revered coaches in American swimming history.

The overhaul to the pool originally built for the 1984 Olympics will make it nearly unrecognizable (afterall, $16 million is a significant price tag for an outdoor pool brand new). The upgrades will include improving conditions both for the swimmers, divers, and water polo players who use the facility daily, as well as the overall student body. Specifically, USC is adding recreational features like a sun deck in hopes of making the pool more inviting.

Among others who will attend is John Naber, a 5-time Olympic medalist in 1976 and a former USC Trojan. A full list of confirmed participants in the event is below:

John Naber, USC Olympic Swimming Great
C. L. Max Nikias, USC President
Pat Haden, USC Athletic Director
Fred Uytengsu, USC Swimming Captain, 1983
Peter Daland, USC Swimming Coach 1958-92
Madeline Rosenthal, Women’s Water Polo Student-Athlete

To read more about the renovations, click here.

We here at SwimSwam rarely get the opportunity to congratulate one of our own, as most of us are well past the primes of our swimming careers.

Tonight, however, we are thrilled to announce the commitment of our colleague and friend Collin Baldacci to the UNLV Rebels.

Bladacci is by far the top recruit out of the state of Wyoming, and in three years of high school swimming already has earned 7 State Championships for Campbell County High School. He trains year-round with the Gillette Swim Team: the state's best that also produced current Cal freshman Nick Dillinger, among others. Gillette won their 21st-straight USA Swimming State Championship in July.

He has bests of 50.57/1:51.43 in the 100 and 200 backstrokes, plus a 1:50.71 in the 200 IM. He should immediately step in as the program's number-two IM'er, but is an especially huge get for the Rebels' medley relays, which for the past few years have been the best mid-major medleys in the country. After Coleman Allen left the program to return to train in his native Canada, this squad was left extremely thin in the backstrokes. If he can crack the 50-second barrier as a senior, Baldacci will more-than-likely step in as the team's primary sprint backstroker.

Baldacci has phenomenal underwaters, and though he's only hit a 52.75 in the 100 fly, he could ultimately contribute there as well.

Baldacci did his research on the program (we wouldn't expect any less), and liked what he saw in their times. “They have had a great history of improvement in their swimmers,” he said of past results, “and I feel like that's the team that I will fit in best with.”

The 13-event Wyoming LSC Record holder is also the USA Swimming athlete representative for his state.

Quote Facebook via Mashable …

“Swimming pools are filled with people. Some you know. Some you don’t. And every once in a while you see something that maybe you shouldn’t. That’s why swimming pools are a little like Facebook.”

Former swimmer James Hickman gives the low down on the transition from an elite swimmer to the working world, as now Global Sports Marketing Manager at Speedo International Ltd. Sounds like elite swimming is no work at all, eh?

With the World Cup quiet, and the Grand Prixs not yet started, there was some time over the weekend for the high school swimmers to shine. Today's edition of Sprint News will focus on those swims.

Bolles Cleans Up at Florida District Meets

…In Florida, the high school district championship meets kicked off; there, in Division 1A, District 2, the Bolles boys and girls took both team titles and qualified the maximum on to the Regional level (an impressive feat). Both teams are going for history, with the boys looking for a 25th-straight State Championship, and the girls going for a 22nd-straight. If the Bolles girls were to take the state crown this year, it would break a tie with Pine Crest for the most consecutive State titles won by a girls' squad.

Ryan Murphy, who recently made his commitment to Cal as one of the top two recruits in the country, won a single individual event and led off all three winning relays as well. In the 100 back, he's already going a 49.30: and that's with Bolles clearly being far from rested based on other swims.

The strategy for the Bolles boys in this year's post season is clear. With a State Title seeming to be as close to a possibility as sport will allow for, they are going after records. This team has already broken both the 200 and 400 free relay records this year, and given that their three big guns (Murphy, Santo Condorelli, and Joe Schooling) each only swam one individual event and three relays, they're out for more blood.

On the girls' side, the Bolles freshmen showed the future of the women's team is strong, despite big graduations. Chloe Miller took her first District title in the 100 fly, winning in 59.69, and Olga Lapteva was the runner-up in the 100 breaststroke. There, she lost out only to senior teammate Ashley Neidigh in 1:06.84. (1A – District 2 results here).

St. Andrews Pulls Off Monster Upset

Elsewhere, in the south end of the state, a huge congratulations goes out to the girls of St. Andrews, as the Lady Scots ended a 24-year run of dominance by Pine crest in 1A District 10. This St. Andrew's team could be good for a long time. Aside from Texas commit Tasija Karosas (winner of the 100 back in 56.13 – a new Pool Record in her home course), this is a team largely built around freshmen and sophomores. Rachael Bradford-Feldman, for example, won the 200 IM in 2:04.49. (1A – District 10 results here).

A full rundown of the Florida Championships, which just wrapped up Tuesday due to Hurricane Sandy, is available here…

Paul Powers Joins Elite Sprinting Class

…A young Georgian named Paul Powers hasd been rising in the sprint ranks for about a year now. He's a junior from Gainesville (Georgia) and swims for Splash Aquatic Club, and won the 50 free Georgia HS title last year, as well as the 100 in long course at the Swimvitational.

If you hadn't heard of him before, let us introduce you: Powers broke the Georgia 15-16 State Records in both the 50 and 100 freestyles over the weekend at the Pilot Aquatic Invitational on the University of Tennessee campus, swimming 20.23 and 43.99, respectively. Those swims take down records held by big-names of Brent Murrayand Matias Koski, respectively. His swim in the 50 also cleared Michael Arnold's 17-18 LSC Record.

He's only the 3rd 16-year old in history to go under 44 seconds in the 100 yard free, and the first in nearly a decade. (The other two were the legendary Joe Hudepohl and Kyle Bubolz).

Powers has at least through this year's Georgia State Championship meet before he ages up, and has set a goal of becoming the first 16-year old to go under 20 seconds (Ryan Murphy currently holds the NAG Record in 20.02). Considering his potential, he's 6'5, weighs 205 pounds, and benches 235; and also plays basketball. He has every opportunity to reach that potential, as his coach is Andrew Deichert, formerly of the Race Club: one of the most successful sprint groups in swimming history.

Wyoming Streak Ends

The Wyoming 3A and 4A State Championship meets were held last weekend in Gillette, Wyoming, and a 7-year streak came to an end when Cheyenne East took the state crown in dominant fashion, edging out Cheyenne Central and Campbell County High School. That ended a 7-year title run from the Campbell girls in Class 4A.

East didn't actually win a single individual event, but with a good mix of youth and experience, plus enough bodies to fill out three stellar relays (including a winning 200 medley), the title was their's. That included a 2nd-place finish from Jonna Brown in the 100 breaststroke in 1:08.28 – finishing just .02 seconds behind Kelly Walsh's Iliana Jones.

Other big swims from the 4A meet included Campbell junior Kelsey Ochsner winning the 100 fly in 56.23 (she should be a notable D-1 recruit in the class of 2014) and still-uncomitted senior Sarah Morgan from Laramie High winning the 100 free in 51.92.

Full 4A results here.

In the 3A meet, Jackson Holewas led to a 60-point victory ahead of Lander High School thanks in large part to freshman Kiana Phelps. She won both the 100 free (53.71) and 200 free (1:59.59) to lead the way. The team also got a big contribution from Connor Tarver, who won the 200 IM in 2:11.71 – the fastest of either meet.

Full 3A results here.

Anthony Ervin on the FINA / Arena Swimming World Cup 2012 – Berlin (GER) podium, after winning the men's 100 freestyle in 46.71, Tommaso D'Orsogna second in 46.99 and Darian Townsend (RSA) third in 47.02, see result list here. He looks a bit underdressed, me thinks, in his denim jacket and towel and slippers, bib missing and everything; but I guess you can get away with that if you swim below 47 in the 100.

After a banner year that saw the Northwestern Wildcats send a pair of women to the NCAA Championships (and very nearly sneak in a relay as well), head coach Jimmy Tierney has done a great job of parlaying the successes into a standout recruiting class.

The Wildcats picked up a big one early when they got a verbal from Carmel's Lacey Locke (read about that here) which effectively knocked over the first domino in this year's class. And though they were a bit quiet for a few weeks there-after, the class exploded again in the last week with a ton of verbal commitments. The class is now very heavy on middle-distance freestylers, though there are some very good sprinters in the mix as well.

Among those is a reach overseas to Singapore for a verbal from Annika Winsnes. Winsnes is truly an international swimmer: she lives in Singapore, but holds dual Dutch and Norwegian citizenship. Further, she's truly a fantastic sprinter, having won the Singapore Age Group Championship for 15-17′s in March with a 26.20 in the long course 50 free (which converts to around a 23.0 in yards). She also has a 57.1 in the long course 100 free (around a 50-mid in yards), and a 28.1 in the 50 fly (that's good).

She and Locke give some young firepower to the Northwestern 200 medley relay that is probably one piece away from looking at NCAA qualification in 2015.

Among other members of the class are Melissa Postoll: another impressive recruit from the Stingrays in Georgia. She's also a sprinter with bests of 24.51 and 52.26 in the 50 and 100 yard freestyles. Northwestern will probably count on her most, though, to bolster their 800 free relay; she comes into her senior year of high school with a 1:52.79 in that race, and with some small improvements could could be a contributor there as well.

Megan Purdy from the Boulder City Henderson Swim Team should definitely have a spot on the Northwestern 800 free relay; at December's Winter Juniors, she led off the team's 800 free relay in 1:50.06. That time probably isn't enough to score at Big Ten's immediately, but if she can knock a second-or-more off of that time by the end of her freshman year with the ‘Cats, it could push the relay into the top-half of the 12-team conference. That certainly seems reasonable, given that she's dropped three seconds already in the last year.

Purdy is good through all of the freestyle races (4:52.5 in the 500), but her best event is probably the 200 fly with a 2:02.8.

Lauren Abruzzo had a breakout summer in long course; the Wildcats are counting on that carrying to yards.

Danielle Elliott from the Patriot Aquatic Club in Illinois is another middle-to-distance freestyler, with bests of 1:52.6/4:59.4 in the 200 and 500 freestyles. It will be curious to see which direction she ends up shifting, as her 1000 free of 10:15.13 seems to be her best, but isn't on the official Division I schedule. We tend to think she'll lean toward the shorter events, but only time will tell. Others in the class include:

• Ellen Stello, a 4:24.5 400 IM'er from Wisconsin
• Lacey Smith, another Coloradoan, who is a 1:50.75 in the 200 free
• Jackie Doyle from the Crown Canyon Sharks, a 56.8 100 yard backstroker.

Missy Franklin, five-time Olympic medalist and swimming superstar, is among the most dominant athletes to ever choose to compete at the NCAA level.

According to the Sports Business Journal, Franklin would have earned roughly $1.5 million in endorsement revenue if she had turned pro, making her ineligible for NCAA competition.

Franklin has given her reasons for competing in college repeatedly, a desire to be a part of a team and enjoy the collegiate experience. However, after carefully weighing her options for a long-term career in a swimming culture historically marshalled by USA Swimming and the NCAA, did she really have another choice? Also, since Franklin recently committed to the University of California at Berkeley, what is her value to the Golden Bears as a bona fide star, in marketing, fundraising and donor dollars?

FRANKLIN COMPARED TO OTHER STAR ATHLETES

Superstars like LeBron James and Derek Jeter leapfrogged the NCAA monopoly, and its amateur restrictions, going pro. While in high school, however, neither had the global visibility or brand power Franklin now commands after she innocently and playfully smiled, danced and swam her way into fans’ hearts and minds.

Franklin, famous for her dancing, dances with National Team Director Frank Busch at a 2012 Olympic Team training camp social. (Photo Credit: DB)

Franklin has lived on camera since the 2011 World Championships, long enough to reveal any cracks in her character. They don’t exist. She is truly an athletic phenom and an American Darling, one from a middle-to-upper-class, educated family, and, most importantly, a family grounded in their understanding of the institutional swimming landscape.

For the LeBron James of the world, a professional league is in place; a means of making millions over a career before dollar one is reaped in endorsement contracts.

For Franklin, no professional league exists, not on the level of the NBA or NFL. FINA, swimming’s international governing body, hosts the World Cup Series, but it is still in its infancy, and, to date, has not been pushed by USA Swimming, the national governing body (NGB) which develops swimmers from the age group level to Olympic stardom. While U.S. world-class swimmers often lament the lack of drive from USA Swimming to develop a professional circuit, they might as well be whining silently into the wind. A professional circuit runs counter to USA Swimming’s Core Objectives, which is, on the performance side, to develop the most competitive Olympic Team once every 4 years. To that end, USA Swimming has been a leader among its peer NGBs under the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) umbrella, supporting its athletes with subsistence dollars; revenue generated from registration dues and corporate sponsorships aligned with the wholesome swimming brand. (USA Swimming direct athlete support through the Athlete Partnerships Agreement (APA) and Elite Athlete Grants totaled $1.86 million in 2011, and support is projected to be roughly $2 million in 2012.)

CHOOSING COLLEGE

For a long-term, healthy career, Franklin chose correctly. She chose the USA Swimming / NCAA path, the system of development that has been indoctrinated into every American swimmer for the last five decades, and she’ll gain a great education, friendships, and memories that will last a lifetime. Moreover, Franklin will continue to be praised for remaining amateur. Interestingly, Americans, who arguably have a religious belief in capitalism, love their athletic purists, particularly when they’re Olympians.

So, frankly, Franklin’s choice was not surprising. It was expected, despite the topic being hotly debated over the summer. Only one swimmer has fared extremely well skipping NCAA competition, going the endorsement revenue route, and he, Michael Phelps, is an anomaly. Female swim stars have had mild to failing efforts in this area and need not be mentioned here. In the end, Franklin, given she’s in good health, will step away from NCAA swimming after two seasons and will generate seven-figure coinage on the ramp up to the 2016 Rio Olympic Games when she’s more mature and better able to manage the dual responsibility of being an elite athlete and corporate partner.

FRANKLIN VALUE TO CAL BERKELEY

It must be said. Franklin is the number one swimming recruit in the history of the sport.

Coming out of high school, Michael Phelps, while dominant, still had not won his six gold and two bronze medals in Athens. Had Phelps chosen to compete at the NCAA level he would’ve entered college as a multi-world champion and 5^th place finisher from the Sydney Olympics. Before Mark Spitz committed to Indiana University he was a multi-medalist from the 1968 Mexico Games (2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze), but not on the level of Franklin, and certainly not in the global media age we occupy now.

Olympian, Missy Franklin, named one of Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year

Franklin has measurable value, but it’s challenging to quantify. Sport columnists often attempt to measure football and basketball stars’ value to universities, but rarely put a bottom-line figure to their reports. Typically they amount to a bump in event ticket sells, merchandising, and a vague argument about the boost to the television audience and the athletic department’s corporate partnerships.

I’ll go this far: Between the post London and pre-Rio Olympic rush, August 2012 to April 2015, Franklin could have generated at least $2.5 million in endorsement revenue had she turned pro, 1.5 million after London, and another million over the following two years. By becoming a Golden Bear, which she’ll be for the rest of her life, she’ll impact Cal Berkeley’s bottom-line over and above that value. It is a perfect match, a university with an international profile, big assets to support, and, potentially, big assets to build. Franklin will, as most Golden Bear alumni, be a passionate supporter for many decades to come.

POINT VALUE PLUS LEGACY

As an athlete, Franklin’s estimated point value at NCAA Championships is impressive. Considering her lineup, she should score, conservatively, 45 individual points, and on relays it can be predicted she’ll add up to another 10 points (only so few because Cal is already so dominant in the relays). Under Teri McKeever, the 2012 U.S. Olympic Swimming Team Head Coach, the Cal Berkeley Women’s program has nearly become a dynasty. Franklin may seal that title for many years to come, with points scored and by attracting more talent to the program.

PAC 12 NETWORK

Franklin plus McKeever plus the recent Golden Bears' NCAA Team Titles will draw a bigger audience to the newly minted PAC 12 Network. Televised swimming competitions are dismissed by analysts, the old guardians of the sport, and even swimming purists as money losing endeavors. They are not. My wife and I have produced swimming television for the last three years, and the events do turn a profit. With an Olympic superstar like Franklin headlining, profits in excess of $15,000 to $20,000 per event can be realized, and that’s with a title sponsor only. It does not factor in 2^nd and 3^rd tier sponsors.

DONOR SUPPORT

More television time plus more NCAA Team Titles will motivate the Cal Berkeley base, the hundred thousand plus alumni, to support the university. Like all Olympic superstars, Franklin transcends swimming. She has name value beyond the sport, and this will translate to the broad base of alumni willing to open up their checkbooks.

A NEW CAL BERKELEY POOL

Cal Berkeley alumni power is key here, a driving force when you consider the Golden Bears are in need of a new pool. It will take more than passionate swimming alums alone. Franklin, combined with Coach McKeever and Coach Dave Durden’s (Cal Men’s swimming) success, plus past superstars like Natalie Coughlin and Matt Biondi, creates the perfect pitch. The best swimming recruit in history has chosen, arguably, the best swimming program in the world. It’s time to allocate dollars where they are deserved. Franklin is the all-important icing on the cake, the immediate tipping-point talent, which is so very crucial when striving for that 50% fundraising milestone on a multi-million dollar facility.

FRANKLIN, THE ACADEMIC AMBASSADOR

From here on, Franklin’s value is plus, plus. As a celebrity student-athlete, through university marketing materials, she will draw global visibility to the college of her major and the university overall. Moreover, at every national and international competition, going forward, reporters will tie Cal Berkeley to her name.

We spoke with Olympic manager Brant Feldman, CEO and founder of AMG Sports, for background, and he was quick to point out, “Most research institutions may highlight a student-athlete within their major to help that department…if the athlete has notoriety as a great student. Andrew Luck with Stanford was noted many times in the media that he was an architecture student. This helped that department.”

FRANKLIN, THE CAL BERKELEY ALUM

Flashing-forward years into the future, Franklin will always be a Golden Bear, and she will always be an Olympic star. While swim fans love to dream of the future, they often do not like the undo pressure the media creates by making predictions. Concerning Franklin, predictions are a safe bet. She’s already earned her place among the greats. Franklin will have earning power for the rest of her life, even if she never performs well at another Olympic Games. Franklin will always be an asset to Cal Berkeley’s donor-base. She doesn’t even have to donate herself. Franklin can simply lend her name to initiatives and/or attend donor functions.

Coach Teri McKeever

Franklin’s value to Cal Berkeley will exceed the 2.5 million she could have earned on her own, and her choice to develop at an renowned university may impact the sport as a whole more significantly over the long-term. Coach McKeever, cited as one of the greatest female coaches, deserves due credit here. Moreover, McKeever deserves to not be delineated in the coaching community by her sex. Franklin chose a great university, and she chose one of the greatest swimming coaches, male or female, in history. In the end all swimmers and swim-fans will be the ultimate beneficiaries. Much like Michael Phelps, though taking a slightly different path, Missy Franklin will grow the sport.

POOL DECK DISCUSSIONS:

Hindsight is 20/20, but the best opportunity to develop and monetize the USA Swimming Grand Prix Series as a truly professionally enterprise was 2009 to 2012, during Michael Phelps’ reign of global star power. Was that an enormous opportunity loss, or did USA Swimming do the right thing by keeping the Grand Prix Series small and focusing their athletes on the annual peak meet, World Championships, Pan Pacific Championships, the Olympic Games?

USA Swimming’s mission, on the performance side, is to develop the best Olympic Team. Does a professional swimming league “actually” run counter to that mission statement? If not, can you argue to the contrary.

“Don't fix if it ain’t broken.” USA Swimming is the most successful NGB under the Olympic umbrella (most medals won in London, offering financial support to elites). Is developing a truly professional series too much to ask of them when they’re already #1 among their peer organizations?

If USA Swimming, or any other organization, had developed a professional series with enough television visibility (to increase an athlete’s endorsement revenue) and prize money to support a pro swimmer lifestyle (in excess of a million dollars per year), would a swim star like Franklin still be better off competing at the NCAA level? Consider that they could still attend a top university and get an education.

At SwimSwam, college swimming news is extremely popular. Surprisingly World Cup Series news is equally popular. Would a successfully developed professional swimming series actually increase interest in college swimming? College football is exciting, but the college football story continues into the professional ranks. Does one complement the other, making all boats rise?

As a  descendent of the great Richard Shoulberg, Dan Flack knows what it means to put in hard work. However, his program at Baylor School is much different than what you would find with Shoulberg at Germantown Academy. In this interview with Garrett McCaffrey, Flack talks about the evolution of his coaching philosophy and gets into detail about what they're doing out in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Also, check out part 2 of this interview where Flack explains the set up at Baylor School.