Why OneAmerica Financial dove into a USA Swimming sponsorship

When Team USA athletes prepare to enter the pool at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, Calif. next week there will be a subtle, but significant addition to their uniforms.

For the first time, their competition suits will bear a sponsor logo – that of OneAmerica Financial, marking the latest milestone in the mutual company’s sponsorship of USA Swimming.

The sponsorship began in 2023 and runs through 2028, spanning both the Paris and Los Angeles Olympics and a slew of major competitions, such as next week’s Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, which runs from Aug.12 through 15.

“It allows us to run that through two [Olympic] cycles, which is wonderful,” Kelley Gay, OneAmerica Financial’s chief marketing officer, told InvestmentNews. “We're really, really proud to sponsor USA Swimming and all the parts of it that really make a difference in the world.”

The sponsorship, which was announced in November 2022, ties OneAmerica’s marketing efforts to key USA Swimming events. TV ads for the company’s “One less thing to worry about” marketing campaign, for example, are active now on NBC and Peacock, and will run through the Pan Pacific Swim Championships. As a sponsor of USA Swimming, OneAmerica is also providing support for learn to swim activities across the U.S.

A sport for life

“When you think about this landmark agreement for us, it's a long-term commitment to sport and we have, with USA Swim, a shared belief in the importance of swimming both as a competitive sport and a life-saving skill,” said Gay, who is also a board member of the USA Swimming Foundation.

The OneAmerica chief marketing officer cites data from the CDC showing that there are an average of 11 drowning deaths in the U.S. every day, and that drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children aged 5 to 14.

Working with the USA Swimming Foundation, OneAmerica supports learn-to-swim programs in communities served by historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). “What was critical for us was the learn-to-swim programs that we have put in place,” said Gay. “USA Swimming is built on a legacy of tremendous athletes, tremendous commitment to water safety and the commitment to make sure that there is equity across all universities to have access to swimming and then locally within the community.”

To illustrate her point, Gay highlighted the company’s work in Indianapolis, where it is headquartered. In 2024 the Lucas Oil stadium, better known as the home of the Indianapolis Colts, hosted the US Olympic swim trials. The stadium will host the trials again in 2028.  

“That was an incredible experience to see Lucas Oil transform to have three pools in it,” Gay told InvestmentNews. But away from the spotlight of elite competition, OneAmerica also set a goal to reach more than 50,000 children and individuals with learn to swim programs in the city that year.

More recently, ahead of the Pan Pacific Swim Championships, OneAmerica and USA Swimming hosted a free community pool day for children under the age of 18 at the Aquatic Center, in Irvine. “There were hundreds of kids enjoying in a safe way, their experience, and getting comfortable in the water,” said Gay.

The sponsorship also opens the door to financial education for USA Swimming’s membership, which currently stands at over 380,000.

“Many families generationally have not talked about finances, not created the kind of forum to have conversations - not just that, but also how do you take action on your goals?” said Gay.

OneAmerica is also working with USA Swimming athletes in a number of different ways. “It is about creating a forum for them to participate in some of the learn to swim programs that we have,” said Gay, noting that the athletes all have a story of perseverance, discipline and performance. “And then when we can connect those athletes into working with our home office associates, working with our distribution partners in the field, to inspire.”

The company also has a link to swimming within its executive ranks in the form of CEO Scott Davison. “He was a competitive swimmer, and he definitely gave us an appreciation for the sport and the values that it instills,” said Gay.

The OneAmerica chief marketing officer is herself no stranger to elite sport – she won the 1995 NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship with the University of Connecticut team that went 35-0.

So, what is it like for her to be back in this world? “I love it,” she told InvestmentNews. “These athletes have dedicated their life to this sport - I've come to appreciate the degree to which that dedication can translate into their second and third acts as they retire from sport and get into their next thing that they're going to do.”

Wealth management and sports

Other companies in the financial and wealth management sectors have forged high-profile links with the world of sport. LPL Financial, for example, has a partnership with the PGA of America, while mega-RIA Hightower is the wealth management partner of US Squash as the sport prepares to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles games.

For OneAmerica, its USA Swimming sponsorship undoubtedly has an Olympic element, as well as other hugely important facets away from the elite sporting spotlight.

“This sponsorship allows us to help create access to financial education, understanding and action, as well as the certainty that can come from having more confidence in the water,” said Gay.