A landmark agreement has been signed that is expected to reshape the landscape of college swim recruiting. According an article set to be published Monday, the Universityof Tennessee, in conjunction with Federation Francaise de Natation (FFN), will announce a joint partnership that will make Tennessee the sole destination for members of the French National Team bound for studies in America. The agreement received preliminary approval by the NCAA earlier this week and is thought to be the first of its kind in collegiate sports and certain to ruffle the feathers of the Vol’s SEC competitors.
As a part of the agreement existing French swimmers like Sebastien Roualt (Georgia) and Romain Maire (Purdue) will be allowed to continue with their current teams. There is no truth to rumors that Laurie Manaudou will enroll. That widely circulated report turned out to be a hoax .
“We’re excited to have France join the Tennessee family,” commented men’s head coach John Trembley. “A lot of credit has to go to the entire Tennesseestaff for thinking ‘outside the box’” Trembley added. “This agreement will enable unparalleled cooperation between the French people and UT, and enhance the experience of our student athletes.”
In an e-mailed statement, Mr. Michel Sauget, Deputy Vice-President of the FFN noted that the partnership would enable the French federation, “Exclusive access to the finest trainers [coaches], resources and facilities available at Tennessee.” Part of the attraction is the new Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center. Once completed, Tennesseewill have three 50-meter pools within just 100 yards of one another, something very appealing to a nation with fewer than 100 Olympic-sized tanks. “After a thorough and exhaustive process,” Lucas concluded, “We believe Tennesseeis best positioned to help us prepare for the next two Olympiads.”
Under terms of the agreement, the land-grant university will become an extension to the FFN while Volunteer Aquatics will be registered as a club. The Tennesseestaff will earn the BEES3 technical designation (the highest coaching certification credential in France) and serve as technical advisors to the federation. This summer, Trembley and longtime Princeton men’s coach (and Trembley associate) Rob Orr will take the Volunteer sprint and breaststroke groups to Orleans, France where he will direct a Franco-American team of sprinters, which, ironically enough, will include Auburn alum Frederick Bosquet. The pair will also open a satellite location of Trembley’s Tennessee Swimming Camp in the city of Orleansto go along with existing sites at Mercersburg>, Pennsylvaniaand Blairstown, New Jersey. In Knoxville, assistant coach Joe Hendee and a yet-to-be-named Gradate Assistant will team with Lucas to train the French and Tennesseedistance and IM groups. In 2008 the roles will be reversed with sprinters remaining in the states and IM and distance groups training overseas.
CollegeSwimming.com contacted several coaches to gain comment on what is already a contentious issue. No program would go on record with their comments, though each articulated disgust with the move. At least two programs, however, have already begun pursuing similar agreements with other countries. One coach, who asked to remain anonymous explained that the agreement isn’t an entirely new, “We’ve been working on it [securing an agreement] for two years but have only found interest from Bolivia….and let’s be honest there aren’t many world beaters coming out of Bolivia.”
Portions of this article were reprinted with permission from Knoxville News Sentinel.