For the vast majority of collegiate swimmers, their Conference Championships - while not as fast as their NCAA counterparts - mark the biggest meet of the year. This year, as a part of our analysis of conference fields, CollegeSwimming.com took a look at each of the 63 conferences and decided to compare them side-by-side.
To do so, we scored each of the conferences against one another by comparing the winning time in each individual event along with the time needed to qualify for the championship and consolation finals (8th and 16th places respectively). We did this two ways in an effort to determine the fastest and the deepest conferences. To calculate the fastest conferences, we placed the greatest weight on the 8th place time, followed by the winning time. To determine conference depth, we placed the most weight on the times needed to qualify 16th with the least weight placed on the winning time.
Men's ComparisonWomen's Comparison
Women
|
Fastest
|
|
|
Deepest |
1
|
SEC
|
|
1
|
SEC
|
2
|
Pac-12
|
|
2
|
Pac 12
|
3
|
Big 10
|
|
3
|
Big 10
|
4
|
ACC
|
|
4
|
ACC
|
5
|
Ivy League
|
|
5
|
MWC
|
6
|
MWC
|
|
6
|
Ivy League
|
7
|
Big East
|
|
7
|
Big East
|
8
|
Big 12
|
|
8
|
CAA
|
9
|
C-USA
|
|
9
|
WAC
|
10
|
WAC
|
|
10
|
MPSF
|
11
|
CAA
|
|
11
|
Big 12
|
12
|
MPSF
|
|
12
|
Atlantic 10
|
13
|
Sun Belt
|
|
13
|
CCSA
|
14
|
Atlantic 10
|
|
14
|
C-USA
|
15
|
CCSA
|
|
15
|
Patriot
|
|
Men
|
Fastest
|
|
|
Deepest |
1
|
Big 10
|
|
1
|
Big 10
|
2
|
SEC
|
|
2
|
SEC
|
3
|
Pac-12 |
|
3
|
Pac 12 |
4
|
ACC
|
|
4
|
ACC
|
5
|
Ivy League
|
|
5
|
Ivy League
|
6
|
MPSF
|
|
6
|
MPSF
|
7
|
Big East
|
|
7
|
Big East
|
8
|
CAA
|
|
8
|
CAA
|
9
|
Big 12
|
|
9
|
Atlantic 10
|
10
|
C-USA
|
|
10
|
Patriot
|
11
|
Atlantic 10
|
|
11
|
MAAC
|
12
|
Patriot
|
|
12
|
Horizon
|
13
|
Horizon
|
|
13
|
Big 12
|
14
|
CCSA
|
|
14
|
C-USA
|
15
|
Summit
|
|
15
|
Summit
|
|
Division II (and
Combined)
|
Women
|
Fastest
|
|
|
Deepest |
1
|
GLIAC
|
|
1
|
GLIAC
|
2
|
PSAC
|
|
2
|
PSAC
|
3
|
Bluegrass |
|
3
|
Bluegrass
|
4
|
Sunshine State
|
|
4
|
Metro
|
5
|
Metro
|
|
5
|
Northern Sun |
6
|
Norhtern Sun
|
|
6
|
Sunshine State |
7
|
RMAC
|
|
7
|
RMAC |
8
|
New South
|
|
8
|
New South
|
9
|
Appalachian
|
|
9
|
Appalachian
|
|
Men
|
Fastest
|
|
|
Deepest |
1
|
Bluegrass
|
|
1
|
Bluegrass
|
2
|
GLIAC
|
|
2
|
GLIAC
|
3
|
Sunshine State
|
|
3
|
Metro
|
4
|
New South
|
|
4
|
Northern Sun
|
5
|
RMAC
|
|
5
|
Sunshine State |
6
|
PSAC
|
|
6
|
RMAC |
7
|
Metro
|
|
7
|
New South |
8
|
Northern Sun
|
|
8
|
PSAC |
9
|
Appalachian |
|
9
|
Appalachian |
|
Women
|
Fastest
|
|
|
Deepest |
1
|
NESCAC
|
|
1
|
UAA
|
2
|
UAA
|
|
2
|
NCAC
|
3
|
NCAC
|
|
3
|
Empire 8
|
4
|
SCIAC
|
|
4
|
SCIAC
|
5
|
Empire 8
|
|
5
|
NEWMAC
|
6
|
MIAC
|
|
6
|
SUNYAC
|
7
|
NEWMAC
|
|
7
|
MIAC
|
8
|
WIAC
|
|
8
|
NWC
|
9
|
SUNYAC
|
|
9
|
Centennial
|
10
|
CCIW
|
|
10
|
WIAC
|
11
|
NWC
|
|
11
|
CCIW
|
12
|
Centennial
|
|
12
|
Mid Atlantic
|
13
|
MIAA
|
|
13
|
MIAA
|
14
|
AMCC/PAC
|
|
14
|
AMCC/PAC
|
15
|
CAC
|
|
15
|
Landmark
|
|
Men
|
Fastest
|
|
|
Deepest |
1
|
NESCAC
|
|
1
|
NESCAC
|
2
|
NCAC
|
|
2
|
UAA
|
3
|
UAA
|
|
3
|
NCAC
|
4
|
Empire 8
|
|
4
|
Empire 8
|
5
|
NEWMAC
|
|
5
|
NEWMAC
|
6
|
SCIAC
|
|
6
|
SCIAC
|
7
|
MIAC
|
|
7
|
SUNYAC
|
8
|
WIAC
|
|
8
|
MIAC
|
9
|
Centennial
|
|
9
|
NWC
|
10
|
MIAA
|
|
10
|
Centennial
|
11
|
NWC
|
|
11
|
MIAA
|
12
|
SUNYAC
|
|
12
|
WIAC
|
13
|
CCIW
|
|
13
|
AMCC/PAC
|
14
|
AMCC/PAC
|
|
14
|
CCIW
|
15
|
Landmark
|
|
15
|
Mid Atlantic
|
|
