The NCAA has released the time standards for the NCAA Division II Championships for the upcoming 2016-2017 season. The Division II Championships will be held at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, AL, the same site as the meet was held in 2013. Both men’s and women’s competitions will be held simultaneously March 8-11.
Unlike the Division I standards that were also released, almost every single “B” standard changed for both men and women in Division II. With the exception of the “B” standard for the men’s 200 IM, every single cut either got faster or stayed the same. The heightened standards reflect the increases in depth that Division II and Division III swimming has seen in recent years.
To automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships, a swimmer must earn the A-cut in any event. All swimmers with A-cuts get invited to race those events, and usually, the only swimmers with A-cuts before the meet are the same ones that will stand near the top of the podium. Thus, “B” standards are in place to bring additional swimmers and teams to the competition and to give swimmers with “A” standards bonus events. Relays, however, must not only have attained the cut, but also have at least one swimmer (or diver) that has been invited to the meet individually. However, relays are qualified to the school, meaning that once a school has a relay team with a cut, it can take whichever swimmers it wants for that event, not just those four which swam the qualifying time.
Last year’s NCAA Division II time standards can be found here.
2017 NCAA Division II Time Standards
| Men | Women | |||
| “A” Standard | “B” Standard | Events (Yards) | “A” Standard | “B” Standard |
| 19.84 | 20.83 | 50 Free | 22.9 | 24.05 |
| 43.7 | 45.88 | 100 Free | 49.63 | 52.12 |
| 1:35.81 | 1:40.60 | 200 Free | 1:48.27 | 1:53.68 |
| 4:23.61 | 4:36.79 | 500 Free | 4:52.11 | 5:06.72 |
| 9:07.51 | 9:34.89 | 1000 Free | 10:01.12 | 10:31.18 |
| 15:20.74 | 16:06.78 | 1650 Free | 16:48.69 | 17:39.12 |
| 47.22 | 49.58 | 100 Back | 54.24 | 56.96 |
| 1:44.81 | 1:50.05 | 200 Back | 1:57.68 | 2:03.56 |
| 52.91 | 55.55 | 100 Breast | 1:01.82 | 1:04.91 |
| 1:56.01 | 2:01.81 | 200 Breast | 2:13.75 | 2:20.44 |
| 47.17 | 49.53 | 100 Fly | 53.63 | 56.31 |
| 1:45.98 | 1:51.28 | 200 Fly | 1:59.45 | 2:05.43 |
| 1:46.34 | 1:51.66 | 200 IM | 1:59.95 | 2:05.94 |
| 3:51.46 | 4:03.03 | 400 IM | 4:17.69 | 4:30.58 |
| Qualifying | Provisional | Relays | Qualifying | Provisional |
| 1:19.35 | 1:23.31 | 200 Free Relay | 1:31.99 | 1:36.59 |
| 2:54.89 | 3:03.63 | 400 Free Relay | 3:21.09 | 3:31.14 |
| 6:29.43 | 6:48.90 | 800 Free Relay | 7:20.46 | 7:42.49 |
| 1:26.60 | 1:30.93 | 200 Medley Relay | 1:40.65 | 1:45.69 |
| 3:10.18 | 3:19.69 | 400 Medley Relay | 3:39.60 | 3:50.58 |
Changes in Time Standards from 2016 to 2017
| Men | Women | |||
| “A” Standard | “B” Standard | Events (Yards) | “A” Standard | “B” Standard |
| -0.08 | -0.08 | 50 Free | 0 | 0 |
| -0.15 | -0.16 | 100 Free | -0.22 | -0.23 |
| -0.8 | -0.84 | 200 Free | -0.09 | -0.09 |
| -1.23 | -1.25 | 500 Free | 0 | 0 |
| -0.86 | -0.81 | 1000 Free | -0.56 | -0.58 |
| -1.75 | -1.83 | 1650 Free | -0.27 | -0.29 |
| -0.31 | -0.33 | 100 Back | -0.26 | -0.27 |
| -0.24 | -0.26 | 200 Back | 0 | 0 |
| -0.08 | -0.09 | 100 Breast | -0.41 | -0.43 |
| -0.73 | -0.77 | 200 Breast | -1 | -1.05 |
| -0.28 | -0.29 | 100 Fly | -0.66 | 0 |
| -0.46 | -0.49 | 200 Fly | -0.73 | 0 |
| 0 | +0.01 | 200 IM | -1.14 | 0 |
| -0.91 | -0.96 | 400 IM | -1.1 | -1.15 |
| Qualifying | Provisional | Relays | Qualifying | Provisional |
| -0.14 | -0.15 | 200 Free Relay | -0.23 | -0.24 |
| -0.32 | -0.34 | 400 Free Relay | -0.79 | -0.84 |
| -1.14 | -1.2 | 800 Free Relay | -2.64 | -2.77 |
| -0.33 | -0.35 | 200 Medley Relay | -0.82 | -0.85 |
| -1.02 | -1.07 | 400 Medley Relay | -1.99 | -2.09 |