Cal Swim's 15 in a Row - Few Have Done Better in Any Sport

The Bears have finished 1st or 2nd at the NCAA Champinships 15 straight times

Cal's NCAA runner-up men's swim team / Photo by Al Sermeno, Cal Athletics

How impressive is the 15-year streak of top-2 finishes at the NCAA championships by the Cal men’s swim team?

Among traditional college sports, the Bears’ ongoing run —including their runner-up performance on Saturday night — is the second-longest in Division I history.

Only Oklahoma State’s wrestling team, which finished first or second in 16 straight NCAA meets from 1928 through ’46, is surpassed Cal’s feat. Note: OK State’s streak straddled a three-year break (1943-44-45) from NCAA competition during World War II.

Wrestling is a sport that’s been dominated by just a few teams — most of them from the states of Oklahoma and Iowa. The Iowa Hawkeyes had two different 11-year streaks of placing first or second at the NCAAs.

Cal’s 15-year run — all under coach Dave Durden — includes six NCAA titles and nine runner-up performances.

Two lower profile college sports have produced longer streaks. West Virginia’s rifle team (1980-98) and Denver’s ski team (1954-72) each finished no lower than second place for 19 consecutive years.

Rifle and skiing are both co-ed competitions at the NCAA level.

Denver has won a total of 24 NCAA skiing titles since 1954, although Utah has captured five of the past six crowns.

Penn State’s fencing team — also a co-ed event — has matched the Bears with 15 straight top-2 finishes, spanning from 1990 to 2004.

Perhaps the most democratic of all sports is men’s ice hockey, which has produced seven different three-year streaks, with 21 different schools — including Rensselaer, Lake Superior State and Quinnipiac — capturing titles.

Rugby is not an official NCAA sport but Cal has dominated the national tournamet, including its run of 12 straight top-2 finishes from 1991 to 2002.

The Cal men’s rowing team has won 19 national national titles. The IRA has conducted the collegiate men’s rowing championshipssince 1895, although the competition primarily involved Ivy League schools in the early years.

MOST CONSECUTIVE TOP-2 NATIONAL TEAM FINISHES

By sport

19: Rifle - West Virginia (1980-98)

19: Skiing - Denver (1954-72)

16: Wrestling - Oklahoma State (1928-46-x)

15: Men’s swimming - Cal (2010-25-y)

15: Fencing - Penn State (1990-2004)

14: Men’s water polo - USC (2005-2018)

13: Women’s soccer - North Carolina (1982-94)

12: Men’s rugby - Cal (1991-2002) 

11: Women’s swimming - Stanford (1989-99) 

11: Men’s track and field - USC (1933-43)

11: Women’s track and field - LSU (1987-97)

10: Women’s water polo - Stanford (2010-2019)

10: Men’s gymnastics - Oklahoma (2011-2021-y)

 9: Men’s lacrosse - Johns Hopkins (1977-85)

 8: Softball - Arizona softball (1991-98)

 8: Men’s tennis - UCLA (1960-67)

 8: Women’s lacrosse - Maryland (1994-2001) & Northwestern (2005-2012)

 8: Women’s tennis - Stanford (1999-2006)

 7: Men’s basketball - UCLA (1967-73)

 7: Men’s cross country - UTEP (1975-81) 

 7: Women’s cross country - BYU (1997-2003)

 7: Men’s golf - Oklahoma State (1982-88) & Houston (1962-68)

 7: Women’s gymnastics - Utah (1982-88) & Oklahoma (2016-23-y)

 7: Men’s volleyball - UCLA (1978-1984)

 6: Women’s rowing - Cal (2013-2018)

 6: Men’s soccer - St.Louis (1969-74)

 5: Baseball - USC (1970-74)

 5: Women’s bowling - Nebraska (2013-17)

 5: Women’s beach volleyball - USC (2019-2024-y)

 5: Women’s field hockey - Old Dominion (1988-92) & North Carolina (1993-97)

 5: Women’s ice hockey - Minnesota (2011-15)

 4: Women’s basketball - UConn (2013-16) & Tennessee (1995-98)

 4: Women’s volleyball - Penn State (2007-2010)

 4: Football (AP poll era - 1939-1997) - Miami (1986-89)

 4: Football (CFP era  2014-current) - Alabama (2015-18)

 3: Football (BCS era - 1998-2013) - Florida State (1998-2000)

 3: Men’s ice hockey - Seven teams 

 3: Women’s golf - Four teams

x-NCAA meet canceled in 1943-44-45 due to WWII

y-NCAA championship canceled in 2020 due to COVID

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