Women’s intercollegiate swimming and diving became a Club Sport in 1972. In 1973, when Vice Chancellor Howard Aldmon announced the move of women’s athletics, swimming and diving was among the seven sports elevated to the institutional level. The Women’s Physical Education Department in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation coordinated the sports. In 1976 the newly established Women’s Athletics Department began to oversee swimming and diving and six other sports.
Catherine Byrne of Solon, Ohio, who competed for Tennessee from 1989 to 1992 and earned 14 All-America certificates during her UT career, was named NCAA Woman of the Year in 1992.
Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving became a unified program in 2013, under the leadership of Matt Kredich, who had been the women’s head coach since 2005–6. Dave Parrington, diving coach, had already coached both the men’s and women’s teams, having been named SEC Men’s Diving Coach of the Year seven times, SEC Women’s Coach of the Year four times, and 2013 National Women’s Diving Coach of the Year.