Saint Leo University Restores Varsity Swimming Programs
Saint Leo University announced that it will reinstate its varsity men’s and women’s swimming teams, reversing cuts made to the athletic department three years ago. The programs will return initially as club teams for the 2027–28 academic year before making a full transition back to NCAA Division II competition in the 2028–29 season.
The university previously disbanded the swimming program in the spring of 2023, alongside its men’s and women’s track and cross country teams. While those other running programs were subsequently brought back—a process that included the construction of a new outdoor track—swimming remained sidelined until this month’s announcement.
Tiered Return to Division II Competition
The phased comeback is designed to give the university time to rebuild its rosters and establish a solid foundation before re-entering the NCAA.
Before the cuts, both squads enjoyed sustained national success. The men’s team reached the NCAA Championships for 12 seasons from 2012 to 2023. During that run, Henrik Dahrendorff captured the NCAA Division II title in the 200 breaststroke in 2019. Meanwhile, the women’s team strung together 10 straight NCAA Championship appearances between 2014 and 2023.
Megan O'Reilly Leads Swimming Programs as Head Coach
Megan O’Reilly, the university’s current manager of aquatics and fitness, will lead both programs as head coach. O’Reilly competed collegiately for the Catholic University of America before graduating from the University of South Florida in May 2022 with a psychology degree, followed by a second degree in behavioral healthcare in 2024. She is currently pursuing her Master of Business Administration at Saint Leo.
“Saint Leo University is always evaluating the quality and scope of its athletic offerings,” Marcal Lazenby, the school’s vice president of student life and athletics, said in a press release. “The return of men’s and women’s swimming provides another opportunity for talented student-athletes to pursue their academic and athletic goals at Saint Leo while bringing back two programs with proud histories within our university community.”
The teams will primarily train out of the Marion Bowman Aquatics Center, which features a six-lane, 25-yard outdoor pool. Located roughly 35 miles north of Tampa, the campus also opened a 59,000-square-foot Wellness Center in 2022 equipped with a resort-style pool and two lap lanes.
Broader College Athletics Landscape
The restoration at Saint Leo arrives amid wider industry shifts concerning the stability of collegiate swimming programs. Division I institutions such as Hofstra University and Merrimack College have also announced the addition of new varsity swimming programs in recent weeks.
For Saint Leo, which operates as a Benedictine Catholic university established in 1889, the athletic expansion follows a period of declining undergraduate enrollment. Total undergraduate enrollment sits at just over 7,500 students, following a decline from a peak of approximately 12,021 during the 2015–16 academic year, though the school has recorded student body growth in several recent years.
Worth a look