Stonehill to Add Men’s Swimming & Diving for 2026-27 Season
Matthew Distler has been named head coach of this new Division I athletic program.
Stonehill College and Stonehill Athletics have announced the addition of men's swimming & diving for the 2026-27 season.
Stonehill will join Howard, Le Moyne, LIU and Wagner as NEC schools that sponsor men's swimming & diving. The Skyhawks also recently added diving to the women's team during this current academic year.
Matthew Distler, who has been the head coach for women's swimming since being hired in 2022, will take on the role of head coach for men's and women's swimming & diving.
"We are thrilled to announce that Stonehill College will expand our NCAA Division I athletic offerings with the addition of men's swimming & diving," said Dean O'Keefe, Assistant Vice President/Director of Athletics. "Since our recent reclassification to NCAA Division I status, the interest in varsity sports at Stonehill has reached unprecedented heights, with prospective student-athletes from around the world seeking an opportunity to earn a Stonehill degree and compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics. Our women's program has enjoyed tremendous success under the leadership of Coach Distler, and I am excited to see both the men's and women's teams continue to rise together."
"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."
"By adding men's swimming and diving, Stonehill is helping drive the continued growth of the sport within the NEC," said NEC Commissioner Noreen Morris. "Their investment creates new opportunities and will enrich the overall championship experience for all our student-athletes."
The creation of the men's swimming & diving program marks the first expansion of a varsity Division I athletic team for Stonehill since the addition of women's hockey for the 2022-23 campaign.
Stonehill will now have 24 varsity athletic programs at the Division I level, 21 of which will compete in the NEC, while equestrian participates in the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association (IHSA), and women's ice hockey in the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA). The men's ice hockey program is an independent Division I program.