Sept. 26, 2016
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ââ'¬" Members of the USA Swimming National Team will square off against collegiate swimming stars from the Big Ten Conference, including Penn State, in the inaugural USA College Challenge, presented by arena.
The short-course yards dual meet is slated for Nov. 12-13 at the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis.
"The USA College Challenge, presented by arena, will be an exciting competition for swimmers and fans alike," said USA Swimming National Team Director Frank Busch. "As you saw this summer, collegiate swimming is a key pipeline for our National Team, and this event will showcase college and Olympic-caliber swimming at its best."
"We are excited for the opportunity for our students to compete with world-class athletes and to continue the momentum from Rio," said Big Ten Associate Commissioner for Sports Administration Wendy Fallen. "We embrace the important collaboration between USA Swimming and the Big Ten Conference as we prepare our students for leadership roles in and out of the pool."
Ticket and television broadcast information will be available in the near future. Tickets can be purchased online beginning Oct. 1.
A running score will be kept throughout the dual meet competition combining the points earned by both women and men. With 262 points available in 30 total events, the first team to 131.5 points will be the winner.
For individual events, each team will be permitted to enter up to four athletes. The top three athletes in each individual event will be permitted to score points for their team ââ'¬" 5 points for first place, 3 points for second and 1 point for third. Relay scoring is 7 points for a first-place finish and 0 points for second.
Each athlete may be entered in up to six events during the meet, including individual events and relays.
The Big Ten Conference produced a number of standouts for Team USA at this year's Olympic Games, including Lilly King and Cody Miller of Indiana, Connor Jaeger of Michigan and David Plummer of Minnesota. Penn State's Shane Ryan competed for Ireland.
Current student-athletes at Big Ten institutions who are members of the USA Swimming National Team would represent the Big Ten Conference at the meet. Big Ten alumni would represent the National Team. Rosters for the USA College Challenge, presented by arena, will be announced later this fall.
Michigan swept the men's and women's 2016 Big Ten Conference Championships. At the NCAA Championships, Indiana led the conference with a ninth-place finish on the men's side and seventh-place finish for the women.
About USA Swimming
As the National Governing Body for the sport of swimming in the United States, USA Swimming is a 400,000-member service organization that promotes the culture of swimming by creating opportunities for swimmers and coaches of all backgrounds to participate and advance in the sport through clubs, events and education. Our membership is comprised of swimmers from the age group level to the Olympic Team, as well as coaches and volunteers. USA Swimming is responsible for selecting and training teams for international competition including the Olympic Games, and strives to serve the sport through its core objectives: Build the base, Promote the sport, Achieve competitive success. For more information, visit www.usaswimming.org.
About the Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to more than 9,500 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men's ice hockey and men's and women's lacrosse since 2013. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.