UMR has been selected as a host institution for the 2008 NCAA Division II Swimming and Diving Championships, which will take place March 12-15 at the Mizzou Aquatics Center on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia.

The men’s and women’s championships will be contested simultaneously over the four-day event. This is the first NCAA event the university will host, since the 1996 South Central regional tournament in men’s basketball.

It is the first time that UMR – or Missouri S&T as of Jan. 1 – has been selected to host an NCAA championship event.

During each of the four days, the preliminary rounds will take place during the morning session, which starts at 10:30 a.m. each day. The championship and consolation championships will be contested during the evening session at 6 p.m. nightly, except for the two distance freestyle events and the 800-yard freestyle relay. These timed finals will take place during both sessions.

The Miner swimming team, which opened its 2007-08 season at the Mizzou Aquatics Center Oct. 13 during the Show- Me Showdown, is hoping to repeat its performance from last season at the national meet where it finished fourth overall. The Miners have placed among the top 10 at the NCAA Division II Championships in 11 of the last 12 years and had all 12 of last year’s competitors earn All-American honors.