Midseason invitations are over and the calendar is now in 2023. That means the NCAA is just around the corner. So let’s see how many schools have NCAA accredited relays.
First, a quick review of how relays qualify for the NCAA.
- The easiest way to certify a relay for the NCAA is to reach the “A cut”, officially known as the relay’s “certification standard”.
- Once a team has obtained an ‘A’ standard relay, it can also participate in all relays that have obtained a ‘B’ standard, formally known as the ‘interim standard’.
- Teams containing four (4) qualified individual swimmers may swim relay events with at least a “B” standard.
- Relays qualify “teams” rather than individual swimmers, so teams can choose which swimmers they want to use in the relay.
- A team must have at least one separate invitation to send a relay. For the purposes of this article, we assume that all teams below will receive individual invitations.
Why are relay qualifications important? The most important thing for a team aiming for a top prize is that the relay will be a big point. Being a weighted double individual event for him, it is important that as many relays as possible qualify and have scoring chances.
But more than that, the number of relay qualifications the school has shows the depth of the program. Qualifying for all five relays in the NCAA means the program doesn’t just rely on him being one or two stars. He has at least four swimmers who have directly contributed to the program’s success, and probably more.
We’ve already seen that getting an NCAA-qualified relay this season is a huge turning point for the program.
Below is a list of schools with at least one ‘A’ cut this season. This not only guarantees lanes for that relay, but also all relays that hit the “B” cut.
Schools Earning One or More 2023 NCAA ‘A’ Cuts
| school | Number of “A” cuts | Number of “B” cuts | total | “A” cut event | “B” cut event |
| Stanford | Five | 0 | Five | 200FR, 400FR, 800FR, 200MR, 400MR | – |
| texas | Four | 1 | Five | 400FR, 800FR, 200MR, 400MR | 200 france |
| Virginia | Four | 0 | Four | 200FR, 400FR, 200MR*, 400MR | 800 france |
| north carolina | Four | 1 | Five | 200FR, 400FR, 200MR, 400MR | 800 france |
| Alabama | Four | 0 | Four | 200FR, 400FR, 200MR, 400MR | 800 france |
| Indiana | Four | 0 | Four | 200FR, 400FR, 200MR, 400MR | 800 france |
| Ohio | 3 | 1 | Four | 200FR, 400MR, 400MR | 200MR |
| Louisville | 3 | 2 | Five | 200FR, 400FR, 200MR | 800FR, 400MR |
| UNC | 3 | 1 | Four | 200FR, 200MR, 400MR | 400 france |
| USC | 2 | 2 | Four | 200FR, 200MR | 400FR, 400MR |
| Cal | 2 | 3 | Five | 200MR, 400MR | 200FR, 400FR, 800FR |
| florida | 2 | 0 | 2 | 200FR, 400FR | |
| Georgia | 1 | 3 | Four | 400MR | 400FR, 800FR, 200MR |
| LSUs | 1 | 2 | 3 | 200 france | 400FR, 400MR |
| Tennessee | 1 | 1 | 2 | 400MR | 400 france |
| total | 44 | 16 | 60 |
Note: The asterisk in UVA’s 200 medley relay means that USA Swim has not yet recognized the time because that swim was outside NCAA rules. SwimSwam believes this is due to roster management, but they are not certain. USA Swimming believes the NCAA will eventually approve these times. UVA had another relay of 1:36.43, which was recognized by USA Swimming and earned a ‘B’ cut.
Stanford is the only school to achieve an “A” cut in all five relays, but UVA won’t swim the 800 freestyle relay until the postseason. Like UVA, the other schools competing for the top five spots in Texas, North Carolina, Alabama and Indiana all have four “A” cuts.
Not only is it the only school with five A-cuts, it holds the top times in the country in all three freestyle relays (1:25.90/3:09.82/6:56.45). His 800 free relay time for them is particularly impressive as he is more than three seconds faster than second place Texas. Stanford and Texas are also his only two schools to achieve an A-cut in the 800 free relay.
At this point in the season, 15 different schools have an ‘A’ cut. Last year, 27 schools qualified for the NCAA relay. So look for the total number of schools going up during the conference championship. That was a leap from his 22 schools in 2021, but still short of his 30 that qualified for her NCAA in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Last season, Auburn swam all five relays in the NCAA, earning two “A” cuts and three “B” cuts. After midseason, there are no A cuts and she has four B cuts. It’s a similar story in Florida, but I haven’t swam the ‘B’ cut yet. In 2022 he NCAA was a turning point for them and in 2021 he was ineligible for the relay.
Conversely, LSU swam the ‘A’ cut in the 200 free relay. This means the Tigers will send the relay to his NCAA for the first time since 2016. I am also eligible to swim the 400 free relay and medley relay. At the beginning of the season, we thought: Maggie McNeill Don’t worry about relays that may give you an edge over your competitors. But now her schedule fills up quickly.
Another school of note is Wisconsin. Last season they swam the ‘A’ cut in all five of his relays, and since midseason the 800 Freestyle has only swum the ‘B’ cut in his relay.
Women’s NCAA Relay Eligibility Status After Invitation
