Georgia Swim Schedule Puts New College League Front and Center

The University of Georgia swimming and diving programs released their full 2026-27 competition schedule on August 18, opening Friday, Sept. 25 with a College Swimming League match against Alabama, NC State and Virginia at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Ill. Home dates include the biennial Florida dual and the league’s final regular-season four-team meet at Bauerle Pool inside Gabrielsen Natatorium.

Tickets for the Oct. 23 CSL home match go on sale August 24. The slate mixes the new league’s compact format with familiar SEC road trips and the Georgia Fall Invitational.

The full slate runs from September into late March

Georgia’s fall opens on the road in the CSL, then visits Texas A&M on Oct. 10. A home diving dual against Alabama precedes the big CSL night on Oct. 23, when the Bulldogs host Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee. Florida arrives Oct. 30 to start rivalry weekend that also features football and soccer.

If Georgia reaches the CSL postseason, the Wild Card sits Nov. 5 and the Championship Nov. 6 at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis. The Georgia Fall Invitational fills Nov. 19-22 in Athens. After the break come road rivals Georgia Tech on Jan. 8 and Tennessee on Jan. 23, then Senior Day versus Emory on Jan. 30.

Selected athletes will also race the U.S. Short Course World Championship Trials (Oct. 28-31, Westmont), the U.S. Open (Dec. 2-5, Austin) and USA Diving Winter Nationals (Dec. 9-15, Midland, Texas). Start times arrive in coming weeks.

How the College Swimming League changes the fall calendar

Georgia joined the inaugural CSL field in May as one of 12 programs. All 12 finished in the top 25 at both the 2026 men’s and women’s NCAA Championships. The league draws from the International Swimming League model: four teams per match, 14 men and 14 women per roster, 15 events built for broadcast, including Skins and Super Skins.

• 500 free
• 200 breast
• 200 back
• 200 free relay
• 200 fly
• 100 IM
• 100 back
• 100 free
• Skins
• 200 IM
• 100 breast
• 50 free
• 100 fly
• 200 free
• Super Skins

Each school races only two regular-season matches. Georgia’s second comes at home on Oct. 23 against three SEC rivals. The league secured a multi-year ESPN media rights deal: all six regular-season matches stream on ESPN+, with the Wild Card and Championship on ESPNU.

CSL CEO Robert Kent said of Georgia’s entry, “Few programs carry the history Georgia does. The Bulldogs have been a force in this sport for decades, and bringing a name like that into our first season gives fans a program they already know and respect.”

Georgia is going to be a tough team to contend with from day one. Stefanie (Williams Moreno) and Neil (Versfeld) have built rosters with real depth, and depth is what wins in a format where every lineup decision swings the match. This is a program with seven national titles in its history, so the Bulldogs know how to show up when it counts.

CSL COO Kyle Sockwell said that after the May announcement.

Rivalry weekends stack early and late

The Oct. 30 Florida dual opens Georgia-Florida rivalry weekend across sports. January brings the annual Georgia Tech road trip and a Knoxville dual against Tennessee. Senior Day against Emory closes the home regular season on Jan. 30. Road stops at Texas A&M and the SEC Championships in Austin keep the conference load intact.

The compact CSL rosters force sharper lineup choices than a traditional dual. Crowd conversation around the league has noted the sprint-heavy event order and absence of diving, which puts extra weight on Georgia’s free and stroke depth after both the men and women finished 15th at the 2026 NCAAs.

Postseason path runs through Austin twice

After the Auburn First Chance Meet in early February, Georgia heads to the SEC Championships Feb. 15-20 in Austin. The Bulldog Invitational/Last Chance Meet follows Feb. 27-28 at home. Zone B Diving Championships sit March 7-10 in Knoxville. Then both NCAA Championships return to Austin: women March 17-20, men March 24-27.

1. Feb. 15-20, SEC Championships, Austin
2. Feb. 27-28, Bulldog Invitational Last Chance, Athens
3. March 7-10, NCAA Zone B Diving, Knoxville
4. March 17-20, NCAA Women’s Championships, Austin
5. March 24-27, NCAA Men’s Championships, Austin

The dual Austin trips bookend the championship window for both squads.

Seven women’s titles still shape the standard

The women’s program owns seven NCAA team titles (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2013, 2014, 2016), most under longtime coach Jack Bauerle. Stefanie Williams Moreno now leads the women and Neil Versfeld the men after the programs split in 2022. Both squads improved points slightly in 2026 yet remained outside the top 10. The CSL’s emphasis on 14-athlete depth and match-by-match strategy offers a different measuring stick before February conference meets.

Virginia enters the league as the six-time defending NCAA women’s champion. Stanford, Indiana, Tennessee, Cal and others fill a field that averages roughly top-11 finishes from the last NCAAs. Georgia’s two matches therefore serve as early national tests against programs already ranked higher.

Home nights at Gabrielsen get national windows

Bauerle Pool will host the Oct. 23 CSL match and the Florida dual a week later. The Georgia Fall Invitational remains a multi-day staple in November. Promotional details for home meets arrive later, but the ESPN package means the home CSL night reaches a broader audience than a standard dual ever has.

College Swimming League format details stress live production and spectator experience modeled on the ISL. For Georgia fans, that means fewer races overall in the fall but higher stakes and clearer team scoring in each of the two matches.

The schedule keeps the traditional SEC and invitational backbone while inserting two high-visibility league nights that force faster decisions and reward balanced lineups. Start times and more ticket information will follow in the coming weeks as the Bulldogs prepare for a fall that looks different from any previous Georgia season.