Midland University will add men’s and women’s swimming in 2017

As of the 2017-2018 school year, Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska will be adding both men’s and women’s varsity swimming to their athletics program. Midland University is a private liberal arts college that is home to the largest athletic department in the state of Nebraska. They have about 1300 students, 900 of which are student athletes.  Midland promotes their students to be involved in extracurricular activities and have worked to expand their athletics program. After adding the swimming program, Midland will now offer 31 varsity athletics programs.

New Facility

In order to launch the beginnings of this team, the Fremont Family YMCA is constructing a brand new facility featuring a competitive pool that can be arranged into either a 6-lane 50 meter pool or a 12 lane 25 yard pool as well as a diving well. Both the men’s and women’s swim teams will practice and compete in this state-of-the-art pool. The Fremont Family YMCA is currently the second largest YMCA facility in the United States, but after completion of the new pool it will become the largest YMCA facility in the nation.

The Midland University Warriors already have an extensive partnership with the Fremont Family YMCA. They have partnered with Midland in many sports outside of swimming. Both men’s and women’s hockey and men’s and women’s tennis are held at Fremont Family YMCA facilities. In addition, all Midland students have free access to the YMCA’s facilities. The new pool will certainly bolster the relationship between these two programs.

Rendering of the Fremont Family YMCA pool where the Midland teams will practice (Rendering courtesy of Ryan Bubb)

Coaching

Midland has recently announced that Ryan Bubb will be the head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams. (See full press release here) Bubb is a Lincoln, Nebraska native who has spent the past several years coaching the Lincoln Southwest High School swim team, where he has had two 2016 Olympic Trials qualifiers as well as three relays ranked as the top 15 in the nation. The women’s 200 free relay, 400 free relay, and 200 medley relay were ranked 20th, 14th and 3rd nationally.

Bubb says that the school is extremely supportive of the new swimming program. He wants to provide more opportunities for students to swim in college and hopes that the excitement of a new program as well as the reputation and location of the school will draw swimmers to the team. Midland University is located about 30 minutes from Omaha and 45 minutes from Lincoln, making it an ideal place for Nebraska swimmers to come to school and have a great college experience.

With many goals in mind, Bubb has set out to continue Midland’s promotion of athletes dedicated to both their sport and to academics. His primary goal for the season is to start developing a distinctive Midland swim team culture and add to the school’s tradition of hardworking student athletes. “I am excited to open a new chapter in Nebraska’s swimming history with Midland University” he said.  Bubb hopes that the addition of these programs will make Nebraska swimming more well known and provide opportunities for more athletes to swim in college.