One of the indelible images of the American triumph at the Paris Olympics was captured thanks to Torri Huske’s spontaneity and Simon Bruty’s camera lens. Huske, the gold medalist in the 100-meter butterfly, was presented with a U.S. flag after the medal ceremony. She turned and passed a corner of the flag to silver medalist and teammate Gretchen Walsh, and together they did a star-spangled rope jump on the edge of the pool as the Old Glory waved behind them. Bruty captured the moment for Sports illustrated.

More than a portrait of American sporting exceptionalism, the photo offers the NCAA, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee an opportunity to capitalize on the massive audiences that tuned into NBC platforms for 17 days. Huske and Walsh are current college athletes, and specifically current ACC athletes – at Stanford and Virginia, respectively – who should be presented to the public like football or basketball stars.

Thanks to a perfectly taken photo, the 21-year-olds are literally the flag bearers of NCAA Olympic sports.

The two fastest women in American history in the 100-meter butterfly will likely face off at the ACC Championships in February and the NCAA Championships in March — Walsh holds the world, Olympic and American records in the event, but Huske has the gold medal. Huske was the most decorated American Olympian with three gold medals and two silver medals, while Walsh was close behind with two gold and two silver medals.

They will likely face each other in other events during the college season, and their teams have combined to win the last six NCAA titles. They are friendly rivals, something that can be built upon for the interest of the casual spectator.

Could this be the swimming version of Caitlin Clark vs. Angel Reese? Maybe Caitlin-Angel Lite? It’s worth a shot, and worth all the considerable promotional work ESPN and the ACC Network can do. Unfortunately, there is no swimming meet scheduled between the Virginia Cavaliers and Stanford Cardinal this season, nor will they compete in the same fall invitational – missed opportunities – but they will compete in championship season.

This is just one example of missed Olympic opportunities. Gymnasts Jade Carey (Oregon State Beavers), Jordan Chiles (UCLA Bruins) and Fred Richard (Michigan Wolverines) are expected to be college athletes in 2024-25. The same goes for a number of other medalists: runner Kaylyn Brown (Arkansas Razorbacks), 3×3 basketball player Hailey Van Lith (TCU Horned Frogs), wrestler Kennedy Blades (Iowa Hawkeyes), fencers Lauren Scruggs (Harvard Crimson) and Maia Weintraub (Princeton Tigers), and a number of other swimmers.

It’s time for college sports to take advantage of the Olympics’ increase in viewership and apply it to NCAA Olympic sports. Thirty million viewers a day can’t be wrong, they can’t lose interest overnight, can they?

“What we’ve just seen validates our shared interest in a wide range of sports,” said Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the USOPC. “Frankly, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen this level of public participation (in Olympic sports). And the collegiate aspect of it is really important — collegiate sports foster the development of our athletes. It makes the difference for those who compete at the highest level. This collegiate system is important.”

The timing of this message is crucial. With the House of Representatives vs. NCAA With a legal settlement threatening to suck up to $22 million a year out of individual schools’ athletic budgets, cuts are inevitable. And if you read the news earlier this week that Alabama is reshaping the football general manager salary market by paying Courtney Morgan more than $800,000 a year, you know which sports won’t make those sacrifices.

The money will continue to flow into building a football empire, which means that Olympic sports should keep a low profile.

They’d also better fight for their share of the pie. As long as media rights revenues keep pouring in, the top universities will likely do everything they can to avoid cuts to sports. That’s a political bloodbath most athletic directors are unwilling to take. But a quiet reduction in importance and reduction in funding remains a possibility after the deal in the House. And the second and third tiers of NCAA Division I members could face program elimination.

Some sports have already been hit hard over time. The U.S. gymnastics team was a big success in Paris, winning a surprise bronze in the team competition, but at the NCAA level there are now just 15 men’s programs — 12 Division I universities and three D-III. Only 319 men competed in the 2023-24 NCAA gymnastics championship. (It’s no surprise, then, that pommel horse hero and Penn State Nittany Lions graduate Stephen Nedoroscik did his part to lobby for his sport’s survival on social media, with photos of himself in action as a college and Olympic competitor and the caption: “If you want MGYM at your school, email your athletic director too.”)

Given the threatening climate for Olympic college sports, it was interesting to see individual schools, conferences and the NCAA itself proudly sending out daily promotional materials about the medal counts of their alumni and current athletes in Paris. (Some of it is a little flimsy given the implications of realignment. Like the ACC claiming Katie Ledecky, who last swam for new conference member Stanford in 2019.) They’re fighting the PR battle; we’ll see if that translates into a competitive funding campaign.

The ACC is better positioned than any other league to promote its Olympic sports. The arrival of all-sports powers Stanford and Cal, plus a not-too-bad SMU, is a selling point in that area. With the new setup, the league has divisions Nos. 2 (Stanford), 5 (Virginia), 7 (North Carolina), 11 (Notre Dame), 12 (Florida State), 17 (Duke), 20 (Cal) and 21 (North Carolina State) in the 2023-24 Learfield Directors Cup all-sports standings.

“It’s time to redouble our efforts in the Olympic sports space,” says ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips. “And that’s something that’s been in the DNA of the ACC since its inception. As we went through expansion and discussed the pros and cons, one of the incredible benefits was that these three schools were joining a conference that was already committed to Olympic sports. It’s time for all of us to reinvest in what has been an Olympic development program for the United States and the world.”

The league is at least putting its money where its mouth is. In fall sports alone, the ACC Network recently announced plans to broadcast 28 women’s soccer games, 23 men’s soccer games, 20 women’s volleyball games and 16 field hockey games.

“This is a commitment,” says Phillips. “It’s not just about saying we’re going to be supported. We’re preparing our most valuable asset, our network, to support Olympic sports.”

All conferences must get involved in promoting these sports if they truly care about their survival. That includes the NCAA, which now has an advocate for all sports at its helm in the form of President Charlie Baker. His engagement with Hirshland and the USOPC has been productive.

But this is both an issue that affects each campus individually and a holistic one. Difficult decisions must be made as football becomes both more lucrative and more expensive.

With 2028 marking the first Olympic Games on American soil since 1996, there is an urgency to perform well, and this must translate into urgency at both the grassroots and collegiate levels.

“The NCAA is the lifeblood of our program,” Hirshland says. “I’m not worried that the flow (of athletes through the college ranks) will stop. I’m worried about how it’s changing. We’re past the point where we don’t know if it’s going to change — now the question is how.

“We want people to understand how a change in college football could impact fencing, swimming and track and field. You have to think about the university’s mission to provide a broad range of opportunities for students. Presidents have to think about sports the same way they think about other areas of the university.”

And people involved in sports need to consider how to capitalize on the biggest wave of popularity for the Olympics in at least 12 years. There was already an audience for these sports in July and August. Can universities market their stars of the summer and capitalize on that interest year-round?