In some sports, timing is everything. It can mean the difference between victory and failure, success and obscurity.

To the NCAA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Committee, timing is crucial for the championships it administers to earn the spotlight it feels they deserve. Given the success of recent events, the committee has a unique opportunity to make that light a little brighter.

This year's U.S. Olympic Swimming and Diving Trials and subsequent Summer Olympic Games validated swimming as a popular national and international sport. The trials and days leading up to the Olympics consistently received major media coverage. The media even predicted and hyped an Olympic "showdown" between the Americans and the Australians.

In Sydney, the U.S. delegation amassed a whopping 33 medals during the seven-day competition and literally stole the show for the first week of the Games. Swimming athletes who had enjoyed relative anonymity until that time suddenly were thrust into the spotlight as guests on U.S. morning programs, on the front pages of newspapers and into households across America.

Lesser known to the general public, however, is the fact that many of the swimmers, U.S. and foreign, who starred at the Olympics and garnered so much attention, are swimming in college pools across America every year and are more accessible than people realize. Many of them are or were NCAA student-athletes who have broken records at the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Championships.

Because of that, the swimming and diving committee is looking for ways to make the connection between world-class athletes and NCAA swimming more apparent.

A number of proposals have surfaced in recent years that would enhance the Division I swimming and diving championships, but several issues must be tackled first before any could be successfully implemented. That's the committee's current challenge.

Replicating the international success of NCAA swimmers could be key to elevating the sport at the collegiate level in terms of public interest and audience appeal. According to committee chair Kevin McNamee, associate director of athletics at George Mason University, "The hard part of any performance like the one in Sydney is using that key period, those next 60 to 90 days. You don't want to see the sport just drop off the radar screen.

"Our hope is that the NCAA starts to look at the value a sport like swimming can give to its total marketing effort," McNamee said. "We believe NCAA swimming is a hidden jewel. We are proud of our image and our profile. It could be a win-win for both the NCAA and corporate sponsors."

Plans to capitalize on swimming's broad appeal have been in the works for the past few years. In 1999, the committee voted that the 2000 Division I men's and women's championships be held in short-course meters. The decision was based on the committee's desire to afford athletes the chance to see how they stack up internationally in an Olympic year and create excitement and enthusiasm for the fans that would have the chance to witness world records.

The move did not disappoint. Seven world records fell, and the collegiate swimming community gave rave reviews.

At its September 2000 meeting, the committee discussed more plans to promote the sport and made a bold move toward positioning NCAA swimming championships as a premiere college sports event. The committee agreed to seriously consider moving the Division I men's and women's championships to several weeks after the conclusion of the NCAA basketball championships in hopes of attracting a larger crowd and television audience away from the media frenzy of the Final Fours.

The theory has some backing.

Television ratings from the last five years for both the Division I men's and women's championships have been consistently low, usually drawing about 665,000 viewers. Broadcasts of the event are tape-delayed, usually by a week, and can be on at times when few viewers are awake. And both championships are aired during March Madness.

In 2000, two factors contributed to low ratings and attendance for the championships. The Division I men's championships had the misfortune of airing the same day as the two semifinal games of the Men's Final Four.

The Division I women's championships were held in Indianapolis two weeks before the Men's Final Four. Despite efforts to attract media attention for the championships, few media covered the event. Paid attendance was the lowest of the last three times Indianapolis has hosted the event.

Months later, many of those same athletes returned to Indianapolis for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Each of the 15 sessions in the eight-day event were sold out; approximately 4,300 seats per session at the Indiana University Natatorium. More than 300 media credentials were given during the meet.

NBC covered the event and broadcast it in two segments one week apart. The ratings are in stark contrast to those of the NCAA championships. The August 13 airing was viewed in 3.1 million households in America, for an estimated audience of eight million. The rating beat out competing PGA and WNBA programming that weekend. The August 19 broadcast concluding the trials had similar results.

Qualify as a team sport

Granted, the trials have more international implications for the U.S. than the NCAA championships do, and have more athletes competing, but proof of interest and an audience exists. Corralling that interest for NCAA swimming is the challenge.

USA Swimming Executive Director Chuck Wielgus has witnessed his organization experience great success by positioning its mark and logo as a symbol of excellence. He said he thinks NCAA swimming, if marketed properly, could be a huge television and fan draw.

Wielgus identified two key components necessary for successfully marketing swimming. "I think it all has to start with a commitment to promote the sport," Wielgus said. "There has to be a real willingness to question everything you do to see where changes can be made."

USA Swimming revamped its efforts to promote swimming through producing a more attractive four-color publication distributed to its membership, agreeing to televise more meets and hosting more swimming events.

"With any sport, you can find a way," Wielgus said.

For NCAA swimming, Wielgus has some ideas of his own. He said the Olympics reinforced the concept that swimming is at its best as a team sport. "I'd like to see NCAA swimming become a team sport. Let's qualify teams instead of individuals," he said.

In that scenario, the championships would take place over the course of two weekends with four regional meets (eight teams per meet) competing for two spots per region.

"It would mean some top swimmers will be left at home, but that happens. Look at the basketball tournament," Wielgus said.

Whatever path the committee chooses for the future of swimming, Wielgus said, "Swimmers epitomize everything we value as a society. The NCAA ought to be championing swimming as the model sport."

McNamee agrees, but points to the difficulties in bringing that notion to fruition. Instead of having a standing group of people to meet and work with frequently and consistently to market swimming, the committee meets once a year, informally at championships, and has occasional conference calls.

"Conference calls make it difficult to put a plan into action," he said.

The nature of the committee process also impedes progress, he said. With committee members coming and going at different intervals, "It'd be nice to have access to some people who would help us market it on a consistent basis," he said. "Right now we have to depend on the host institution to promote the meet."

Currently, the committee is looking for a way to celebrate 20 years of women in swimming by bringing back some of the past collegiate greats. Securing funding and finding the time to coordinate the effort is the biggest challenge to making the event possible. It is an effort that extends well beyond the committee's existing workload and responsibilities and duties committee members have at their respective institutions.

And before changing the dates of the championships, the committee will have to examine a host of potential conflicts with recruiting, scheduling and length of season for the student-athletes. The committee will solicit feedback from the swimming community before any decisions are made.

Future possibilities also include developing a long-course championship to be held in the fall. Most of what happens in the world of swimming is based on 50-meter competition. The added championship, if possible, could generate more excitement and increased opportunity for NCAA swimmers.

"We in our sport have made a major mistake in not addressing the issue sooner, McNamee said. "We've had the unfortunate thinking no one cares about our sport. It's crazy that we put ourselves in this position to begin with."