USA Swimming confirmed Tuesday that Cory Hilliard has resigned as the organization’s CFO following his arrest on allegations he embezzled nearly $10,000 while working for the University of Colorado’s athletics program.
Hilliard faces felony charges of theft and embezzlement of public property, as well as a misdemeanor charge of first-degree official misconduct. The Boulder County District Attorney’s Office alleges Hilliard stole $9,510 while working as the administrator of Colorado’s Nike Elite program from 2021 to 2025. That money was meant for “employee product benefit allocations” and qualifies as public funds.
Colorado’s athletics program uncovered financial discrepancies during an internal audit of its 2025 records, and alerted police soon after. The investigation continued after Hilliard left the university in December, when USA Swimming brought him on as its CFO in the first major hiring by new CEO Kevin Ring.
USA Swimming placed Hilliard on leave following his arrest Monday, and confirmed to The Athletic that it is “immediately” beginning a search for his replacement. He was no longer listed in the Boulder County Jail population as of Tuesday night.
Hilliard is the second high-profile executive to join USA Swimming before leaving less than a year later. The group, which oversees competitive swimming from the youth to Olympic level, hired former University of Delaware athletics director Chrissi Rawak as CEO in February 2025. However, just nine days later, Rawak withdrew from the position after USA Swimming discovered she had not disclosed a U.S. Center for SafeSport investigation into her for possible misconduct.
Ring took over as USA Swimming’s CEO in September 2025, despite having no background in sports oversight and previously working in marketing.
