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The Meteoric Rise of Howard’s Swim and Dive Program
For more than a decade, Howard University’s swim and dive team was plagued with a losing streak they just couldn’t seem to shake. But that all changed in 2014, when Howard swim team alum Nicholas Askew took over the program.
By Coach Nic’s second season, the swim and dive team won its first dual meet in 15 years. Since then, he’s catapulted the program into success with record-breaking, undefeated seasons and even a cover feature in Sports Illustrated. While today it’s the only NCAA Division I swimming and diving program from an HBCU, it also happens to be one of the best in the country. Just last month, the program made history yet again with dual Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championship titles for the men’s and women’s teams.
On this episode, Dr. Benjamin Talton, director of MSRC and On the Yard host, sits down with Nicholas Askew, director of swimming & diving and tennis, to talk about the remarkable transformation of the swim and dive team. They discuss Coach Nic’s blueprint to rebuilding the program, his own swimming legacy at Howard, and what Howard’s swim and dive team means for representation in a sport that’s historically lacked diversity.
Episode Guide:
00:00 Howard’s Swim Team Hits Rock Bottom: The Losing Streak Begins
01:40 Coach Nicholas Askew Steps Up: Why He Wanted the Program Cut (and What Changed)
06:35 Taking Over in 2014: Rebuilding the Team From the Ground Up
08:11 Changing the Environment: Staff, Facilities, and Athlete Buy-In
12:06 Winning in the Classroom: GPA Standards, Study Hall, and Full-Time Coaching
17:46 Sports Illustrated & ‘Battle at the Burr’: How the Hype Became History
22:03 Why Stay at Howard? Legacy, 100 Years of History, and Nic’s Origin Story
26:40 Bigger Than Howard: HBCU Swim History and Representation in the Sport
32:10 Building the Pipeline: Camps, Learn-to-Swim, Community Impact
On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM.
Episode Quotes:
Why academics comes first in this program
14:31: Academic success is the number one priority of this program, and if you're only coming to be an athlete here, then this is not a good choice for you. Because we're going to be, you know, really expecting high academic marks, because at the end of the day, Howard's love language is academics.
On Coach Nick’s Howard Journey
25:53: When I got to Howard, to get that feeling of being really filled up in a space that I didn't even know that it was a void there, it was amazing to be around this Black excellence in the pool, in the classroom, on the Yard. And that's really what helped me continue to thrive in this environment, because when you're on campus, you need some motivation and inspiration, and you don't have to look far when you're at Howard.
What’s really holding swimming back?
29:03: One is that there's that underlying myth that Black people don't swim. Two is really this country's ugly history with people of color and water and water spaces. And three is really looking at the accessibility of not just having a community pool, but also having spaces where you can continue to develop through the pathways.
Show Links:
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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By The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard UniversityFor more than a decade, Howard University’s swim and dive team was plagued with a losing streak they just couldn’t seem to shake. But that all changed in 2014, when Howard swim team alum Nicholas Askew took over the program.
By Coach Nic’s second season, the swim and dive team won its first dual meet in 15 years. Since then, he’s catapulted the program into success with record-breaking, undefeated seasons and even a cover feature in Sports Illustrated. While today it’s the only NCAA Division I swimming and diving program from an HBCU, it also happens to be one of the best in the country. Just last month, the program made history yet again with dual Northeast Conference Swimming and Diving Championship titles for the men’s and women’s teams.
On this episode, Dr. Benjamin Talton, director of MSRC and On the Yard host, sits down with Nicholas Askew, director of swimming & diving and tennis, to talk about the remarkable transformation of the swim and dive team. They discuss Coach Nic’s blueprint to rebuilding the program, his own swimming legacy at Howard, and what Howard’s swim and dive team means for representation in a sport that’s historically lacked diversity.
Episode Guide:
00:00 Howard’s Swim Team Hits Rock Bottom: The Losing Streak Begins
01:40 Coach Nicholas Askew Steps Up: Why He Wanted the Program Cut (and What Changed)
06:35 Taking Over in 2014: Rebuilding the Team From the Ground Up
08:11 Changing the Environment: Staff, Facilities, and Athlete Buy-In
12:06 Winning in the Classroom: GPA Standards, Study Hall, and Full-Time Coaching
17:46 Sports Illustrated & ‘Battle at the Burr’: How the Hype Became History
22:03 Why Stay at Howard? Legacy, 100 Years of History, and Nic’s Origin Story
26:40 Bigger Than Howard: HBCU Swim History and Representation in the Sport
32:10 Building the Pipeline: Camps, Learn-to-Swim, Community Impact
On the Yard is a production of The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University and is produced by University FM.
Episode Quotes:
Why academics comes first in this program
14:31: Academic success is the number one priority of this program, and if you're only coming to be an athlete here, then this is not a good choice for you. Because we're going to be, you know, really expecting high academic marks, because at the end of the day, Howard's love language is academics.
On Coach Nick’s Howard Journey
25:53: When I got to Howard, to get that feeling of being really filled up in a space that I didn't even know that it was a void there, it was amazing to be around this Black excellence in the pool, in the classroom, on the Yard. And that's really what helped me continue to thrive in this environment, because when you're on campus, you need some motivation and inspiration, and you don't have to look far when you're at Howard.
What’s really holding swimming back?
29:03: One is that there's that underlying myth that Black people don't swim. Two is really this country's ugly history with people of color and water and water spaces. And three is really looking at the accessibility of not just having a community pool, but also having spaces where you can continue to develop through the pathways.
Show Links:
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.