Last year the Harvard University men captured CollegeSwimming's Mid-Major title by the slimmest of margins. This year the Crimson won by the widest margin in event history while the Denver and Yale women combined for the first season-ending tie in history.
The title was Harvard's second-straight and fourth in five years. They were led by Dean Farris, Brennan Novak, and Logan Houck. Harvard University won the Mid-Major title following a Ivy League Championship and 27th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The University of Pennsylvania men finished second in both the final Mid-Major Ranking and Ivy League Championship. Denver finished third ahead of Yale and Air Force. UCSB, Missouri State, Columbia, Wyoming and UNLV rounded out the top ten.
All news was not good however as two of the top fifty programs - North Dakota and Buffalo - have been slated for elimination along with Wright State.
Conference Rankings | Past Champions | Mid-Major Definition
Men's Final 2016-17 Mid-Major Rankings
Past Men's Champions
2015-16 - Harvard
2014-15 - Princeton
2013-14 - Harvard
2012-13 - Harvard
2010-12 - Princeton
2010-11 - Navy
2009-10 - Eastern Michigan
2008-09 - Navy
2007-08 - Navy
2006-07 - Princeton
2005-06 - Princeton
2004-05 - Missouri State
2003-04 - Eastern Michigan
2002-03 -
Men's Conference Rankings
| 1 | Ivy League (1) | 122 |
| 2 | WAC (2) | 177 |
| 3 | American Athletic (4) | 201 |
| 4 | Mid-American (3) | 224 |
| 4 | MPSF (5) | 224 |
| 6 | Patriot League (7) | 268 |
| 7 | CAA (8) | 296 |
| 8 | Atlantic 10 (11) | 299 |
| 9 | CCSA (8) | 317 |
| 10 | Summit (12) | 323 |
| 10 | Horizon (10) | 333 |
| 12 | Big East (14) | 342 |
| 13 | MAAC (15) | 394 |
Mid-Major Definition
Beginning in 2015, CollegeSwimming defined Mid-Majors as those programs outside of the Power 5 (Big Ten, Pac 12, Big 12, ACC, and SEC) or those that offered fewer than 50% of the maximum number of scholarships allowed by the NCAA.
But what about other "Major" schools?
With the institution of the College Football Playoff in 2014, significant gaps emerged between the Power 5 and other FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) programs in the American, C-USA, Mid-American, and Mountain West. This resulted in significant differences in swimming budgets with other FBS' swimming teams much closer to more traditional Mid-Majors (in both relative terms and actual dollars).
| Average Division I Swimming Budgets | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Power 5: ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC | $1,283,138 | $1,435,581 |
| FBS: American, C-USA, Mid-American, Mountain West | $530,202 | $798,656 |
| FCS/Non-Football Conferences | $331,305 | $443,579 |
