USA Swimming confirmed Tuesday that Cory Hilliard has resigned as the organization’s CFO following his arrest on allegations he embezzled $9,510 while working for the University of Colorado’s athletics department.
As reported by Matt Moret of The Athletic, 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 the money while working as the administrator of Colorado’s Nike Elite program from 2021 to 2025. It represented money 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," Moret wrote. "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.
Related: New USA Swimming CFO Arrested on Charges of Misappropriating Nike Funds at Colorado
Hilliard is the second high-profile executive to join USA Swimming and then depart in less than a year, according to Moret. The governing body hired former University of Delaware athletics director Chrissi Rawak as CEO in February 2025. Rawak withdrew from the position nine days later 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," Moret reported Tuesday.
