For the first time in its 143-year existence, Marquette University is introducing a Division I women’s swim team.

Announced May 2025, it will be Marquette’s 17th Division I sport and the first new program on campus since men’s and women’s lacrosse in 2013. The team starts competition in the fall.

At the helm is Joel Rollings, who’s no stranger to collegiate swimming in the state of Wisconsin. Announced as head coach on Sept. 15, Rollings is responsible for building the team from nothing and laying the program’s foundation.

It’s something he has experience in. Before Marquette, Rollings was the inaugural swimming coach across town at the Milwaukee School of Engineering for two seasons.

“To begin something new is such a great honor,” he said.

Hired by MSOE in 2023, Rollings was recognized as one of the most improved coaches in NCAA Division III after the 2024-2025 season, also being named Men’s Coach of the Year in the Liberal Arts Conference.

Before MSOE, he coached for one season at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee after 12 years at UW-Whitewater. At Whitewater, Rollings worked with NCAA champions and All-American swimmers, breaking 92 school records from 2006-18. 

His coaching journey started at Texas Christian University, where he worked as a graduate assistant coach for swimming. Then he went back to Milwaukee, where he studied kinesiology and participated as a student athlete at UWM. 

Over the past 20 years, Rollings has worked with athletes across multiple levels, including some who went on to become Olympic qualifiers. One was Alex Dionne, a Paralympic athlete who swam record times in the 500 and 1650-yard freestyle events.

The layout

The addition of women’s swimming has been in the works since 2024.

Originally suggested to the athletics department during the university’s “Securing Our Future” planning process — part of Marquette’s goal to cut $31 million over seven years — the varsity program is supposed to help increase student enrollment.

“Adding women’s swimming will improve gender equity in athletics and provide a revenue generation opportunity for the university, while offering a competitive Division I experience for our student-athletes. It’s a win-win for our department and university,” athletic director Mike Broeker said at the official announcement of the team last May. 

The team will be competing in the $80 million athletic and recreation facility with a six-lane competition pool.

Marquette joins seven other Big East schools that currently have a team, competing alongside Butler, UConn, Georgetown, Providence, Seton Hall, Villanova and Xavier. 

Two hundred institutions sponsor Division I women’s swimming in the United States, over 20 in the Midwest and four in Wisconsin, including Marquette, making both regional and national competition possible. In the 2023-2024 athletic season, the NCAA reported a 12% increase in the participation of women in Division I sports over the previous 10 years.

Marquette’s decision to add women’s swimming aligns with its gender equity standards and better represents the makeup of the student body, which is 56% women, Broeker said. 

At the center of this vision is Rollings, who already knows what it takes to build a team.

He’s been working towards his vision of Marquette Swimming since he was announced as the head coach in September, feeling like he’s been standing at the “front end of a fire hose.”

“It’s a great feeling everyday to be on campus,” Rollings said.

The architect

The sport and city isn’t the only thing Rollings has experience with. He is also familiar with Marquette, as his father taught in the psychology department from 1973-1980.

It’s why he lives in Wisconsin, and why he is proud to be a part of the Golden Eagles community.

“The chance to work at Marquette was just a dream,” Rollings said, “to come back to where my father was.”

And since being hired, he’s making the dream come to life. While an intimidating feat, Rollings is figuring out where he wants to go with the team. Most importantly, though, are athletes who love Marquette. 

“It’s a little bit simpler as far as recruiting goes because people know the name and want to be part of the community,” he said. 

Finding all the pieces to make a team is overwhelming, but Rollings is only focused on what he’s trying to build; the rest will fall into place as the process continues.

“Going through things at MSOE helped also as far as knowing some of the pitfalls that come and how to prepare for them,” Rollings said.

Finding the right vendors for swim suits, getting the budget set and creating a competition schedule are all part of this, he said, but when things get overwhelming, focusing on what they’re trying to build makes the process feel easier. 

The individual nature of swimming places importance on finding athletes who are looking to contribute to the wider team, Rollings said. To do this, he taps into Marquette’s reputation and shows them what they can be part of. 

He highlights the high academic and athletic standards, complimenting the student body and referring to campus as “one of the friendliest he’s ever been on.” So much so that the school starts to sell itself.

“We’re looking for those people that love Marquette and pitching them on my vision of what the team is going to be like next year,” Rollings said. “And them being a part of a legacy, something bigger than themselves.”

The build 

Rollings envisions the first month of the season being dedicated to team-building.

With a young group, laying out what the team will look like in four years is essential. This means establishing leaders and figuring out the team dynamic. The problem, however, is that most of his recruits are coming from team captain positions. 

“We don’t have to have everyone be the strong voice,” he said. “We need people who are going to have belief in the vision that we’re trying to get to.”

He hopes that team habits developed in the formative years will carry down the line, showing up in future rosters as a traditional practice.   

“It’s not just about the outcome or final performance,” Rollings said. “It’s about creating that culture and environment that everyone wants to be a part of.”

Rollings has already acquired 15 signees, 10 of which will be part of the inaugural class.

“This group will forever be remembered as the first,” Rollings said. “They’re hungry, committed, and ready to set the tone for what Marquette swimming will stand for.”

The future

With so much of swimming falling on results and individual times, Rollings is emphasizing individual improvement and looking beyond the outcome of a race.

To Rollings, this means having athletes who are proud to be at Marquette and want to work with one another. Athletes who make practice the best part of their day and always want to get better.  

“It’s unfair to set the standard as far as ‘You have to win a national championship,’” Rollings said. “The standard has to be that you win that practice that day, and then if you keep building on that, all of the other outcomes will fall into place.”

While an obvious desire is to move up in the Big East, individual work and team collaboration will be foundational to the team’s overall performance and culture.

“On your own, there aren’t a lot of accolades that come with [swimming],” Rollings said. “It’s the drive and determination that I admire.”

This story was written by Lilly Peacock. She can be reached at [email protected].