The championship meet will take place at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, Wash., March 22-24, 2012. The Seattle University athletic staff will play a major role in the execution of the event, including coordinating the publicity program, directing and supervising ticket sales, and undertaking other duties related to the administration and conduct of the championship.
"We are thrilled that the NCAA has given us this opportunity to host one of its 88 annual championships," Bill Hogan, Seattle University Director of Athletics, said. "Along with the Seattle Sports Commission, we look forward to showcasing one of the finest swimming and diving facilities in the country. We also anticipate that hosting this event will be a springboard for our own men's swimming program as it becomes eligible for participation in the Division I Championships in 2013."
This is the first time Seattle University has been selected to host an NCAA championship event in which the site is predetermined. In 2004, the men's soccer team hosted both the Far West regional and the Elite Eight match on its way to winning the Division II national championship. The women's soccer team was selected to host first- and second-round matches in the Far West region of the 2007 NCAA Division II Tournament.
The Seattle University men's swimming program has been successful at every level since its establishment in 1997. Under Craig Mallery, the only head coach in the history of the program, the men's swim team advanced in the NAIA ranks, ultimately winning the NAIA National Championship in 2002. After moving to the NCAA Division II level, the team once again progressed, reaching its peak in 2008 with an eighth place finish at the NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships.
Now entering its third season at the Division I level, the Seattle U swim program is once again making the transition quickly to be competitive. In February, both the men's and women's teams earned their highest placements at the Pacific Collegiate Swim Conference Championships in Long Beach, Calif., with the men finishing in second place and the women earning a third place finish. Members of the men's and women's swimming teams will be eligible to qualify for the Division I Swimming and Diving Championships beginning in the 2012-13 campaign.
The Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center was the host site for the 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships, won by the University of Arizona. Initially built for the 1990 Goodwill Games, the facility has hosted 18 PAC-10 championships, including this past year's men's and women's diving championships, and will be the site of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Diving Trials.
The Seattle University athletic department will begin Year Three of the four-year reclassification process towards Division I membership on August 1, 2010. Part of the department's mission statement in action is "to create an athletic culture where student-athletes can realize balanced success in academics, athletics, and in all their collegiate pursuits and experiences."