Wagner Latest to Add Men's Teams
Wager College adds men’s swimming & diving as a varsity sport, beginning 2021-2022 season.
Wagner College has announced that it was establishing men's swimming and diving as a varsity intercollegiate sport beginning in Fall 2021. In doing so Wagner becomes the second Division I institution to announce the addition of a men’s team this summer.
The Seahawks' will begin competition in the 2021-22 season as a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC). The NEC announced on September 8th the addition of men's swimming & diving as a league-sponsored sport beginning this academic year.
Current women's swimming & diving head coach Colin Shannahan will take over the head coaching duties for the newly formed program.
“This announcement is exciting for Wagner College and the Northeast Conference, but also for the sport of men’s swimming and diving” said Coach Shannahan. “As a former men’s coach at Rhode Island, I experienced firsthand our program being discontinued and am proud that Wagner is taking a proactive approach to disavow this national trend.”
“The CSCAA is proud to see both the NEC and the Wagner Seahawks invest in swimming and diving,” said CSCAA Executive Director, Greg Earhart. “Even as we’ve seen nine schools eliminate teams in the past six months, Wagner’s decision, along with those of the fourteen other schools adding swimming shows the value these student-athletes bring to campus.”
A Deep Talent Pool
New York is one of the nation's most prodigious swimming states. More than 800 year-round USA Swimming member clubs are located within 200 miles of Wagner’s Staten Island campus. An additional 1,700 high school teams sponsoring the sport. Between 2017 and 2019 New York produced more college swimmers than any other state including 459 Division I swimmers, second only to California.
“Swimming is one of the most popular youth sports in the New York metro and tri-state area. These athletes are not only great swimmers but also successful students,” stated Joel Shinofield, Managing Director of Sport Development for USA Swimming. “Adding a men’s program provides another vehicle to attract top students to campus who will become great ambassadors of Wagner..”
Academically Accomplished
Those swimmers are also smart, boasting average ACT (29.7) and SAT (1284) scores well above New York and national averages. Beginning this summer those grades translate into dollars under the NCAA's new academic distribution model. Among men's sports with fifty or more teams swimming and ice hockey boast the highest Federal Graduation Rates.
Competitive Benefits
According to Earhart, the Seahawks can expect to see a competitive boost as well. Since 2017 single-gender programs have finished, on average, twelve places lower at the NCAA Championships. According to the CSCAA, the presence of a men's team typically increases a women's team conference finish by 1/2 place in an eight-team field.
