Timing is everything.

That mantra seems obvious for a sport like swimming, where a quick flip turn and final push for the wall at the end of the event can mean the difference between a national title and a sixth-place finish. But it's also a mantra that will affect women's water polo -- if swimming gets its way.

The NCAA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Committee, in order to increase exposure in the media and the general viewing audience, has proposed changing the date formula for the men's and women's Division I championships. The proposal essentially would move the women's and men's championships back by two weeks each.

That's important, because for 10 weeks of the season, swimmers do more than lap after lap -- they actually overlap with women's water polo, a situation that would be extended if swimming's proposal were to pass.

As it is, there are facility headaches with the existing overlap. John Tanner, head women's water polo coach at Stanford University, said despite the good fortune of having four pool facilities, the Cardinal still have to balance two diving teams, two swimming teams, two water polo teams and two synchronized swimming teams. "We are an unusual case because of the facilities and the number of teams," he said. "We have to make compromises even with the space we have."

For many institutions that sponsor both women's water polo and men's and women's swimming, a 50-meter pool allows for two of the three teams to practice at one time, eliminating some of the headaches of the crossover period.

"We're fortunate to have a 50-meter pool, so it makes it easier to get practices in," said Todd Clapper, head coach at Brown. "Some teams are forced to practice very late until swimming is done with its season."

Although a change in swimming's championship dates would extend the juggling act for practice schedules by two weeks, Barry King, head women's water polo coach at Indiana University, Bloomington, said his practice times don't change all that much after the overlap period concludes.

"Schedule-wise, we have to stay pretty consistent with our practice times, even when the swimming season is over, because of classes and other obligations," King said. "All three teams are making sacrifices to make it work, and I am fortunate to have a good working relationship (with the men's and women's swimming coaches)."

Dual-sport dilemma

Beyond scheduling, one disadvantage to extending the swimming and diving season for women's water polo is that it might diminish the appeal for institutions looking to add a sport. Because women's water polo can use a facility already in place at most institutions and does not compete with another spring sport for the pool facilities, it has been an attractive addition.

But since the date change is being considered only at the Division I level, the NCAA Women's Water Polo Committee believes the fallout in that regard may be less severe. Divisions II and III programs that compete in the National Collegiate championship often use swimmers who then join the women's water polo squad. The number of student-athletes doing both at the Division I level appears minimal.

Having student-athletes competing in both sports allows both programs to contribute scholarship funds, in some cases. Indiana has its first student-athlete crossing over to participate in both sports this year, while Harvard has three student-athletes competing in both this year and regularly has about two per year.

Jim Floerchinger, head women's water polo coach at Harvard, said the swimming proposal would eliminate student-athletes' ability to do both. "They already are three weeks behind (when they join the team) now," he said. "They would be five weeks behind. They already miss the whole month of February and would miss March, too."

Iona College has 11 of 14 student-athletes playing both sports, and St. Francis College (New York) has eight of 11.

Also, there are coaches at institutions such as Marist College, Siena College and Wagner College who coach both swimming and water polo. They, too, would feel the effects of the crossover period for a longer time.

Karen Moe Humphreys, chair of the swimming and diving committee and assistant athletics director at the University of California, Berkeley, said the primary reason for suggesting the change of championship dates was to help get swimming "the attention it deserves."

"Right now," she said, "when our championships coincide with the final two rounds of the men's and women's basketball championships, that (attention) isn't happening."

Although Humphreys acknowledged that it is frustrating for ESPN2 to cover the Men's Final Four practices live for an entire day and only show 90 minutes of the Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships on a two-week taped delay, television coverage isn't the thrust of the proposal for the swimming and diving committee.

"It's not just the television coverage, but the print media and other exposure," Humphreys said. "We have had outstanding championships with great records being set, and the sport and the student-athletes are not getting the attention they deserve."

The earliest the change could be made for the swimming and diving championships dates is 2005. The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet has referred the proposal back to the swimming committee for further study. The cabinet noted that the proposal might remove the men's swimming and diving championships from the shadow of the Final Fours, but that the women's swimming and diving championships would continue to be hemmed in from a coverage standpoint.

The legend of the fall

Meanwhile, water polo coaches are considering the prospect of moving the women's water polo season to the fall if the swimming season should be extended. Although no proposal exists to suggest that such an action is any more than a concept, the conflicts involved with such a change would exceed a two-week inconvenience.

The facility issues that are involved with the overlap of women's water polo and men's and women's swimming would be further exacerbated by the addition of the men's water polo team needs.

"If you moved women's water polo to the fall, it would be a scheduling nightmare when the swimming season began on October 1," said Brown's Clapper. "It would be nearly impossible."

The swimming championship date change could move back the start of the swimming and diving dual-meet season all the way to the spring semester, though, which could ease some of the facility issues.

There currently are 32 institutions that employ one person to coach both men's and women's water polo, and the sport already struggles to maintain enough coaches to cover all of the vacancies in the market. The unique situation of having men's and women's water polo in different seasons also allows both sports to use many of the same officials. The need for more trained officials already is an issue when the games are spread over two seasons.

"Moving women's water polo to the fall is purely a myth," said Kaia Hedlund, a Big West Conference administrator who chairs the women's water polo committee. "It would be so detrimental to our sport that it really can't even be a consideration. The swimming and diving committee and the women's water polo committee just need to work together to make sure we can maintain a mutually beneficial relationship."

One consideration would be moving the women's water polo season back two weeks, along with the men's and women's swimming and diving season. The total overlap time wouldn't change, but the expense to the institutions that are on semesters and would have to keep student-athletes on campus after the conclusion of the academic year likely would be an issue.

"Water polo isn't a spring sport that extends into May or later, like baseball and some others," Clapper said. "I think our only option would be to move water polo back, too, and I don't see that as a good option."

Both sides, then -- swimming and water polo -- must wait to see if the first domino of the swimming championship date change falls. If it does, to be sure, timing will be everything.

Timing is everything.

That mantra seems obvious for a sport like swimming, where a quick flip turn and final push for the wall at the end of the event can mean the difference between a national title and a sixth-place finish. But it's also a mantra that will affect women's water polo -- if swimming gets its way.

The NCAA Men's and Women's Swimming and Diving Committee, in order to increase exposure in the media and the general viewing audience, has proposed changing the date formula for the men's and women's Division I championships. The proposal essentially would move the women's and men's championships back by two weeks each.

That's important, because for 10 weeks of the season, swimmers do more than lap after lap -- they actually overlap with women's water polo, a situation that would be extended if swimming's proposal were to pass.

As it is, there are facility headaches with the existing overlap. John Tanner, head women's water polo coach at Stanford University, said despite the good fortune of having four pool facilities, the Cardinal still have to balance two diving teams, two swimming teams, two water polo teams and two synchronized swimming teams. "We are an unusual case because of the facilities and the number of teams," he said. "We have to make compromises even with the space we have."

For many institutions that sponsor both women's water polo and men's and women's swimming, a 50-meter pool allows for two of the three teams to practice at one time, eliminating some of the headaches of the crossover period.

"We're fortunate to have a 50-meter pool, so it makes it easier to get practices in," said Todd Clapper, head coach at Brown. "Some teams are forced to practice very late until swimming is done with its season."

Although a change in swimming's championship dates would extend the juggling act for practice schedules by two weeks, Barry King, head women's water polo coach at Indiana University, Bloomington, said his practice times don't change all that much after the overlap period concludes.

"Schedule-wise, we have to stay pretty consistent with our practice times, even when the swimming season is over, because of classes and other obligations," King said. "All three teams are making sacrifices to make it work, and I am fortunate to have a good working relationship (with the men's and women's swimming coaches)."

Dual-sport dilemma

Beyond scheduling, one disadvantage to extending the swimming and diving season for women's water polo is that it might diminish the appeal for institutions looking to add a sport. Because women's water polo can use a facility already in place at most institutions and does not compete with another spring sport for the pool facilities, it has been an attractive addition.

But since the date change is being considered only at the Division I level, the NCAA Women's Water Polo Committee believes the fallout in that regard may be less severe. Divisions II and III programs that compete in the National Collegiate championship often use swimmers who then join the women's water polo squad. The number of student-athletes doing both at the Division I level appears minimal.

Having student-athletes competing in both sports allows both programs to contribute scholarship funds, in some cases. Indiana has its first student-athlete crossing over to participate in both sports this year, while Harvard has three student-athletes competing in both this year and regularly has about two per year.

Jim Floerchinger, head women's water polo coach at Harvard, said the swimming proposal would eliminate student-athletes' ability to do both. "They already are three weeks behind (when they join the team) now," he said. "They would be five weeks behind. They already miss the whole month of February and would miss March, too."

Iona College has 11 of 14 student-athletes playing both sports, and St. Francis College (New York) has eight of 11.

Also, there are coaches at institutions such as Marist College, Siena College and Wagner College who coach both swimming and water polo. They, too, would feel the effects of the crossover period for a longer time.

Karen Moe Humphreys, chair of the swimming and diving committee and assistant athletics director at the University of California, Berkeley, said the primary reason for suggesting the change of championship dates was to help get swimming "the attention it deserves."

"Right now," she said, "when our championships coincide with the final two rounds of the men's and women's basketball championships, that (attention) isn't happening."

Although Humphreys acknowledged that it is frustrating for ESPN2 to cover the Men's Final Four practices live for an entire day and only show 90 minutes of the Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships on a two-week taped delay, television coverage isn't the thrust of the proposal for the swimming and diving committee.

"It's not just the television coverage, but the print media and other exposure," Humphreys said. "We have had outstanding championships with great records being set, and the sport and the student-athletes are not getting the attention they deserve."

The earliest the change could be made for the swimming and diving championships dates is 2005. The Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet has referred the proposal back to the swimming committee for further study. The cabinet noted that the proposal might remove the men's swimming and diving championships from the shadow of the Final Fours, but that the women's swimming and diving championships would continue to be hemmed in from a coverage standpoint.

The legend of the fall

Meanwhile, water polo coaches are considering the prospect of moving the women's water polo season to the fall if the swimming season should be extended. Although no proposal exists to suggest that such an action is any more than a concept, the conflicts involved with such a change would exceed a two-week inconvenience.

The facility issues that are involved with the overlap of women's water polo and men's and women's swimming would be further exacerbated by the addition of the men's water polo team needs.

"If you moved women's water polo to the fall, it would be a scheduling nightmare when the swimming season began on October 1," said Brown's Clapper. "It would be nearly impossible."

The swimming championship date change could move back the start of the swimming and diving dual-meet season all the way to the spring semester, though, which could ease some of the facility issues.

There currently are 32 institutions that employ one person to coach both men's and women's water polo, and the sport already struggles to maintain enough coaches to cover all of the vacancies in the market. The unique situation of having men's and women's water polo in different seasons also allows both sports to use many of the same officials. The need for more trained officials already is an issue when the games are spread over two seasons.

"Moving women's water polo to the fall is purely a myth," said Kaia Hedlund, a Big West Conference administrator who chairs the women's water polo committee. "It would be so detrimental to our sport that it really can't even be a consideration. The swimming and diving committee and the women's water polo committee just need to work together to make sure we can maintain a mutually beneficial relationship."

One consideration would be moving the women's water polo season back two weeks, along with the men's and women's swimming and diving season. The total overlap time wouldn't change, but the expense to the institutions that are on semesters and would have to keep student-athletes on campus after the conclusion of the academic year likely would be an issue.

"Water polo isn't a spring sport that extends into May or later, like baseball and some others," Clapper said. "I think our only option would be to move water polo back, too, and I don't see that as a good option."

Both sides, then -- swimming and water polo -- must wait to see if the first domino of the swimming championship date change falls. If it does, to be sure, timing will be everything.