In this the age of the coronavirus, the Greensboro Aquatic Center (GAC) has scored a huge coup.
The 2021 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division l Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships will be held at the GAC.
The Women’s NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships were previously scheduled to be held at the GAC from Wednesday, March 17 to Saturday, March 20.
But now the Men’s Division l NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships have been added to the calendar for Wednesday, March 24 to Saturday, March, 27.
So the GAC will be hosting the two championships back to back and it’s a good indication that the NCAA has been favorably impressed with previous NCAA events held at the GAC, which include the 2015 NCAA Division l Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships, the 2018 NCAA Division ll Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships and the 2016 and 2019 NCAA Division lll Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships.
GAC manager Susan Braman said, “The NCAA Men’s Division l Swimming and Diving Championships is an event we have pursued since the GAC opened in 2011. To be able to host the Women’s Championship and the Men’s Championship over back-to-back weeks will be a historic opportunity for us. We can’t wait to welcome the top collegiate swimmers and divers to our state-of-the-art venue.”
The Greensboro Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates the 2021 NCAA Men’s and Women’s National Championships will bring a combined total of $3 million in economic impact to the region. With all the events that have been lost in the last year due to COVID-19 that’s good news for the hospitality business.
The NCAA had scheduled the Men’s Championship for Iowa City, but the University of Iowa announced this summer that it was cutting its men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs to save money.
As a result the NCAA started looking for a new location for the Men’s Championship and chose the GAC.
