This year’s Swim With Mike will feature:
• The 50th reunion of USC’s 1974 NCAA Championship team, which won the national title by one point
• Appearances by Traveler, The USC Song Girls and The Trojan Dance Force
• Trojan Marching Band and Student-Athlete Relays
• A Biggest Splash Contest, featuring USC spirit leaders
• A celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Uytengsu Aquatics Center
• Wheelchair Basketball and Pickleball Tournaments
• A Masters swim workout and Deep End Fitness exhibition
Our Story
Swim With Mike has been held annually since 1981. An event that started at USC has now blossomed to satellite sites around the country, raising more than $29 million for college scholarships earmarked for student-athletes to help them overcome their tragedies and realize their full potential.
In 1981, USC All-American swimmer Mike Nyeholt was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident that not only changed his life but led to the formation of a nationally-renowned scholarship program that changed the lives of hundreds of physically challenged athletes.
Following Nyeholt’s accident, his teammates organized a one-time fundraiser called “Swim for Mike” to raise funds for a fully equipped van for his use. However, the swimathon raised significantly more than was needed so, at Nyeholt’s suggestion, the excess funds were used to create the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund at USC.
A year later, Nyeholt—although still paralyzed—was able to enter the water with the other swimmers, so the event’s name was changed to “Swim with Mike.”
In 2001, the program was expanded to allow scholarship recipients the opportunity to attend any university of their choice, not just USC.
Today, the annual Swim With Mike event is a day-long community-building celebration and swimathon that is attended by current and former scholarship recipients, as well as supporters of the program and other guests and VIPs.
The Swim With Mike Mission
The mission of Swim with Mike Foundation is to change the lives of student athletes who have experienced catastrophic injury or illness by providing scholarships, creating community and instilling hope and purpose.
“A drop, a ripple, a wave—join us. You can literally change a life. Together, we can do so much.” — Ron Orr, Swim With Mike Executive Director and USC teammate of Mike Nyeholt
