wow...what now becomes of the top swimming school in the nation?

That's a big deal. Auburn hired Richard Quick as an advisor - I assume at least part of his job will be to recruit Marsh's replacement.

if not take it himself...

this move by marsh is a testament to the foresight of mark schubert. he recognizes the current trend in swimming and reacted to it. personally, i think it's a great move on every level.

it throws a wrench into the NCAA scene, but that will be resolved in a year or so. the far-reaching effects of 3 or 4 regional training grounds for US athletes could result in an even more dominant olympic team and a higher profile for our sport for years to come.

^
what do you mean? Im out of touch with the olympic development and its tie ins with the NCAA? what "trends" are you referring to?

the pros will now go these places and train instead of staying with their old college teams; the ones that bypass college will go directly there; it's almost like being a full-time national team coach

LOB has the right idea. the trend i was referring to was the abundancy of non-NCAA swimmers that fills national team rosters; ie professionals and post-graduates.

from swimmingworldmagazine.com

"At the 2006 Pan Pacific Championships, Team USA finished first in the medal count on the backs of 19 individual medalists who were post-graduate or professional athletes. In addition, all but four athletes on the roster of the U.S. Men's National Team headed to the 2007 FINA World Championships are post-graduate or professional swimmers."