By Anya Pelshaw on SwimSwam
Stonehill College has announced the addition of a men’s swimming and diving program for the 2026-2027 academic year. Matt Distler, current head coach of the women’s swimming and diving program, will be the first head coach for the men’s program as well.
“I am extremely excited to build a new men’s program and to add diving to our now combined programs,” Distler said. “This is also a great opportunity to add another men’s program to our sport. I’m grateful to Stonehill, especially to Dean O’Keefe and Tim Williamson for trusting me with this responsibility and for believing in swimming and diving. I look forward to being able to positively impact more student athletes here on the Hill.”
Stonehill began its transition to Division I in summer 2022 and finished reclassification to full Division I status this past July. The women’s program added diving to its swimming team this academic year and the addition of men’s swimming and diving will bring Stonehill to a total of 24 sports sponsored.
The men’s swimming and diving program will join the women in the Northeast Athletic Conference (NEC), bringing the total to five NEC men’s programs. The Howard men captured the 2025 NEC crown with 883 points. The NEC began sponsoring men’s swimming and diving in the 2020-2021 season.
Also notably making the transition to Division I in the NEC is Le Moyne, who finished 4th out of the four men’s teams in the NEC this past season. Stonehill and Le Moyne finished 6th and 7th respectively out of seven teams this past season on the women’s side.
The addition of men’s swimming and diving for Stonehill comes at a time in which numerous swimming and diving programs have been cut, including programs like Cal Poly. On the other hand, St. Mary’s College in California has added men’s and women’s swimming and water polo for 2026-2027 while Marquette in Wisconsin adds women’s swimming as well.
Stonehill is located in Easton, Massachusetts, about 22 miles south of Boston. The school is home to approximately 2,500 full-time undergraduate students with 56% female and 44% male.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: Division I Stonehill College Adding Men’s Swimming And Diving For 2026-2027
