How to Grow the Sport of Swimming: Marketing, College Meets, and Social Media
- poolschoolswim
- Sep 5
- 4 min read
Updated: Sep 12
The Marketing Gap in Swimming
For those of us who love competitive swimming, it can be both perplexing and frustrating to watch the sport plateau at best - and decline at worst. Despite incredible athletes, record-breaking performances, and thrilling races, swimming hasn’t reached the audience it deserves.
While the action in the pool is as exciting as ever, the way the sport is promoted hasn’t kept pace with modern fans, social media trends, or the opportunities to grow engagement year-round.
If we want our sport to thrive - not just every four years at the Olympics - we need fresh ideas, new energy, and a stronger connection to the fans who already love it.
Why Swimming Struggles to Compete With Other Sports
Other sports succeed not just because of competition, but because they create an experience. Football, basketball, and baseball thrive on atmosphere: chants, school spirit, and an always-on media presence. Swimming, despite its athletes’ talent, hasn’t built that same culture of community and entertainment.
We have the athletes. We have the fans. What we don’t yet have is the energy and creativity to bring it all together.
The Sports Growth Triangle: Football vs. Swimming
Think of sports growth as a triangle.
At the base, community and youth participation fuel local excitement. As athletes progress, school and college programs (should) build larger audiences. At the top, professional and elite levels generate massive national interest.
For football, each level feeds the next - pee wee to high school, to college, finally reaching the NFL - creating a self-sustaining cycle of attention and revenue. Friday night lights draw hundreds, college rivalries fill stadiums, and the NFL captures millions weekly on TV.
Swimming’s triangle, by contrast, narrows at the top. While youth meets are packed with parents and local pride, interest fades as athletes advance. Elite competitions are often inaccessible or under-publicized, and national meets rarely break through mainstream media. While the Olympics draw millions of viewers, most elite swimmers still struggle to earn a livable salary or attract meaningful brand deals outside of Olympic years.
The takeaway is clear: the money, media, and attention follow the fans. Swimming has the participation base, but it hasn’t figured out how to grow and retain fan interest as athletes advance.
As the saying goes: the money goes where the eyeballs are.
Strategies to Grow Swimming’s Popularity
If swimming is going to grow, we can’t wait for the Olympics every four years. We need bold, modern marketing tactics to engage new audiences, create stars, and reimagine what it feels like to be a swimming fan.
Swimming and Social Media: How to Reach New Fans
The digital space offers swimming a unique opportunity to expand its reach, but reaching that potential will require fresh, innovative thinking.
Look at the NFL: teams regularly post funny, trending challenges, behind-the-scenes locker-room clips, and maintain their own YouTube pages packed with highlights and fan content. Swimming can do the same.
A strong social strategy could include:
Viral Swim Challenges: Take a page from other professional teams, which regularly post funny, trending challenges that fans love to share. USA Swimming needs to stay on top of social trends, and encourage our top athletes to participate.
Dedicated Team Video Channels: Like NFL teams’ YouTube pages, swimming programs could have their own channels for highlights, interviews, and fan content.
Podcasts and Social Conversations: While a few swimming podcasts and social channels exist, we need more ongoing content to keep fans talking, sharing, and connecting with the sport outside the pool.
2. Building Swimming Stars Beyond the Olympics
Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte gave us a golden era, but waiting for the “next Phelps” isn’t sustainable. Swimming doesn’t need once-in-a-generation icons - it needs relatable, consistent personalities.
Take LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne. Without Olympic medals or a national governing body's support, she leveraged TikTok and Instagram to become the most-followed NCAA athlete and a NIL powerhouse, boosting attendance for her sport almost single-handedly. Swimmers don’t need a shelf full of Olympic medals to build a following - they can do the same right now.
3. Revitalize College Swimming — Growth Potential on the Line
Some of the world’s best swimmers are competing right on your campus—but too often, college meets feel quiet and under-attended. That’s a missed opportunity, because college swimming is one of the sport’s biggest areas of growth potential. At the same time, it’s also one of the most fragile parts of the sport, with roster limits tightening and programs being cut nationwide. If we don’t invest in making meets more exciting and accessible, we risk losing one of swimming’s most important platforms.
To reverse the trend, college swimming must embrace the event mindset:
Think Bigger Venues: Use football stadiums, outdoor pools, or other large venues to create a big-event feel, similar to how some volleyball and wrestling programs draw huge crowds in unconventional arenas.
Show off the Stars: Olympians and top collegiate swimmers are already on campus - let fans know they’re watching world-class talent live!
Make it an Experience: Pump in music, crowd interaction, fan giveaways, and school spirit. Turn every meet into a social, high-energy event, not just a competition.
Sell Season Tickets to Create a Loyal Fan Base: Package access to all home meets, with perks like reserved seating, swag, or exclusive team experiences. Season tickets build a committed audience, boost attendance, and create a consistent, energetic atmosphere.
The Future of Swimming: From Every Four Years to Every Day
The future of swimming isn’t out of reach - it’s right in front of us. By embracing social media, celebrating the personalities of our athletes, and making college meets a can’t-miss experience, we can turn swimming into a sport that fans follow all year long.
We don’t need to wait for the next Michael Phelps moment - we can create the next chapter ourselves.
The water is ready. All that’s left is for us - the swimmers, coaches, parents, and fans - is to dive in together.
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