USA Swimming’s latest leadership controversy has taken another turn. Former CFO Cory Hilliard reportedly admitted to misusing University of Colorado funds months before he was hired by the national governing body.

The revelation adds another layer to a turbulent period for USA Swimming, which brought in Hilliard in December 2025 as one of the first major hires under new CEO Kevin Ring. By then, however, concerns about Hilliard’s handling of university funds had already surfaced.

Hilliard had spent nearly two decades at Colorado, eventually becoming Senior Associate Athletic Director for Business Operations and CFO. But in July 2025, his career there took an unexpected turn when Athletic Director Rick George alerted the university’s Department of Internal Audit about “concerns regarding possible fiscal misconduct.”

At the center of the investigation was Colorado’s Nike Elite program. Hilliard was its designated administrator, meaning he was responsible for managing employee product benefit allocations. Under the university’s agreement with Nike, employees received an annual allocation of $625 for Nike products.

According to USA Today Sports, Hilliard had the ability to adjust his own allocation without anyone else’s knowledge. Records reportedly showed that he exceeded his allotment every year from 2022 through 2025, including by $6,011 in 2025 and $2,304 in 2024. The total amount identified in the investigation was $9,510.50.

Then came the moment that reportedly changed the direction of the investigation.
On July 30, Hilliard told the university’s audit department, “I did it. I admit it.” Initially, he reportedly explained that the excess purchases were made to buy Christmas gifts for staff members.

But the explanation began to unravel when auditors examined the orders more closely. The purchases reportedly consisted largely of men’s pants and shirts in the same sizes. When questioned about that detail, Hilliard admitted that the items had been purchased for himself.

The university’s report said Hilliard acknowledged that he had access to excess Nike Elite funds and described the spending as an error and a misjudgment. He also reportedly appeared remorseful and told investigators that he was willing to be taxed on the amount he had spent beyond his allocation.

Just over four months later, Hilliard was hired by USA Swimming.

A hiring decision followed by an arrest

Hilliard joined USA Swimming in December 2025 as CFO, becoming one of Ring’s early hires after he took over as CEO. At the time, his extensive experience in collegiate athletics administration made him a notable addition. He had previously spent more than 17 years at Colorado, following eight years in athletics administration at the University of North Dakota.

Swimming itself, however, was not Hilliard’s professional background.
That hiring would come under scrutiny in August 2026, when Hilliard was arrested in Colorado. The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office charged him with theft, embezzlement of public property, and first-degree official misconduct over the alleged misuse of university funds.

USA Swimming said it learned of the arrest around 11 a.m. Mountain Time and immediately placed Hilliard on leave. The organization also removed his access to its data and financial systems and said it would conduct its own investigation into whether any impropriety had occurred during his brief tenure.

The following day, Hilliard resigned.

USA Swimming maintained that the information uncovered at Colorado had not emerged during its hiring process. In a statement to USA Today, the organization said, “USA Swimming engaged an independent search firm and conducted its own due diligence, including speaking directly with CU Athletics. The information now being raised was not disclosed to USA Swimming during that process.”

Hilliard, through an attorney, declined to comment. He is expected to be arraigned in a Colorado court in October.

The controversy arrives during a particularly unsettled period for USA Swimming. In early 2025, the organization had announced Chrissi Rawak as its incoming CEO, only for her to withdraw from the position less than 10 days later after USA Swimming said it learned of a report filed with the U.S. Center for SafeSport that had not been disclosed during its vetting process.

Rawak had been expected to lead the organization toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Instead, Shana Ferguson remained interim CEO while USA Swimming continued its search.

Now, months after making Hilliard one of its early leadership appointments, the organization is once again facing questions about a hiring process that failed to uncover information already known to his previous employer.

For Hilliard, what began with an internal audit at Colorado eventually followed him into a new job, and ended with his resignation from USA Swimming.