"[Arizona State] will be dropping men's swimming and I knew absolutely nothing about it until 45 minutes ago…I am very surprised." - Mike Chasson TEMPE, Arizona, May 13. ARIZONA State University has cut men's swimming according to a press release sent out by the University. Men's tennis and wrestling have also both been cut as part of the move. This confirmation comes on the heels of a leak of the unofficial letter that went out to members of the team which was obtained by Swimming World. The letter is attached in this article.
"[Arizona State] will be dropping men's swimming and I knew absolutely nothing about it until 45 minutes ago…I am very surprised," Arizona State head coach Mike Chasson told Swimming World. "That's all I can say."
"This cut is extremely upsetting," College Swimming Coaches Association of America Executive Director Phil Whitten said. "I'd like to know what the economic realities are to which Athletic Director Lisa Love refers. She said the decision was not arrived in a hasty manner, however, there was no consultation with Coach Chasson, no consultation with me and no consultation with the NCAA, which has offered repeatedly to work with colleges so they won't cut Olympic sports. I've left a message with Love asking to meet with her right away. I'm sure she will be responsive, and we will discuss details and alternatives at that time."
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"I am really disappointed in the situation," ASU alum Nick Brunelli said. "Hopefully, there is a way out of this and it is not officially cut. If it is funding, we will find a way to keep the program alive. If it is not funding, we really want to know what the reason is. Bottom line, we have recruits coming in next year expecting a program."
Repeated attempts to contact athletics department officials have been unsuccessful. Swimming World will continue to work on this story.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Dear MEN'S SWIMMING Student-Athlete,
It is with much sadness that we provide you with this message. Your coach may or may not have had an opportunity to speak with you prior to your reading this email, but because of the timing of these events, we had to contact you directly as well.
Due to economic realities the decision has been made to discontinue your sport at ASU. This decision was not arrived at in a hasty manner as there was much deliberation and searching for alternative solutions.
As you look to the future, I am sure you have many questions. To that end, a meeting has been scheduled for 1:00 pm TODAY in room 35-41 at Wells Fargo Arena. There you will be presented with more information regarding this matter. You can find room 35-41 in the corridor in the lower level of Wells Fargo Arena. Should you not be able to attend, written materials will be sent by overnight mail to your permanent address. You can also contact your coach for this information as well.
Please know that we will do everything we can to assist you through this difficult time.
Respectfully,
Lisa Love
Mr. Jean Boyd
Associate Athletic Director
Student Athlete Development
Arizona State University
Arizona State just released the following press release announcing the cuts:
In response to economic realities experienced over a long period of time, Arizona State University today announced the discontinuation of three varsity sports programs, effective immediately. The sport programs affected are men's swimming, men's tennis and wrestling. ASU President Michael Crow and Vice President for University Athletics Lisa Love made the announcement. With the budget cuts the University is facing, Intercollegiate Athletics cannot expect the University to make up the difference.
This move reduces the number of varsity sports sponsored by ASU to 20 from 22. The move will not affect men's diving. ASU will continue to fund football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, softball, men's and women's golf, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field, women's tennis, women's swimming and diving, men's diving, women's volleyball, women's gymnastics and women's water polo.
"Our primary concern for the immediate future is the student-athletes and coaches that are affected," says Love.
The student-athletes in the discontinued sports who decide to transfer to another institution will be provided with full assistance from ASU regarding the transfer process. The student-athletes who chose to remain at ASU will receive the full benefits of their scholarship awards through their senior year.
"With a dedicated effort to a successful 20-sport varsity program in mind," says Love, "these three sports were selected with the following criteria: financial impact, potential competitive success, conference/regional support and gender equity. Our revenue trajectory has been positive, however, our ongoing financial challenges have been well documented by the media. The decision to discontinue sport programs is a last resort, yet necessary."
"These moves are extremely painful," says Love. "We have arrived at the realization that funding a 20 sport program is a better fit for our financial profile and will serve to secure and strengthen our future. It is our responsibility to operate a fiscally prudent varsity athletics program. The costs of doing business are escalating daily and the costs of maintaining excellence even more so."
At 20 varsity sports, ASU is in line with other major institutions around the country. In the Pacific-10 Conference, schools that compare favorably with ASU are UCLA and Washington 23 sports each, USC 21, Arizona 20, Oregon and Oregon State 18 each and Washington State 17. On a national scale, Florida, Georgia and Auburn sponsor 21 varsity sports, Texas, Tennessee, Oklahoma and LSU 20 apiece, and Florida State 19.
"The profile of our operations budget and donation base does not lend itself to the sponsorship of 22 athletic teams," says Love. "While our revenue streams are achieving a positive trajectory they are simply not keeping pace with the current size and scope of the department.
"The decision to discontinue sports has been the most distressing and painful choice this administration has had to make. It is counter-intuitive to our administrative thinking. This decision impacts many people, both on and off our campus. The entire University, the Board of Regents, Sun Devil alumni and other universities will share in the loss of these sports and student-athletes and the contributions they have made to our University and to their sport.
"The action is in no way meant to diminish the dedication, effort or ability of these student-athletes, coaches and alumni. They have contributed greatly to Arizona State University athletics and to the vitality and history of the University," Love says.
As many as 70 student athletes will be affected by the elimination of these sports. Six full-time coaching positions will be eliminated. Head coaches will remain on contract through November, 2008.
The establishment of a 20-team varsity sport program will allow the department to realize a reduction in expenses that will total approximately of $1 million annually.
This is the second time in ASU's athletic history that programs have been eliminated. In 1993 ASU eliminated men's gymnastics, an NCAA-sponsored sport, and two club sports sponsored by ICA -- men's and women's and mixed archery and men's and women's and mixed badminton. Two sports have been added in recent program history, including women's varsity soccer in 1996 and women's water polo in 2002.
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Reaction Time Comments
May 13, 2008 "This decision was not arrived at in a hasty manner as there was much deliberation and searching for alternative solutions."
Uh... so, if she was looking for solutions, wouldn't the FIRST place to start be with the COACH?
It's infuriating that these ADs actually expect swimming people to even imagine they've tried to save a sport, when they drop bombs like this without anyone in the swimming community being asked to help.
I feel horrible for the athletes and coach Mike Chasson. Seems like the school just sucker punched them. Submitted by: goswim
May 13, 2008 Such machinations by AD administrators have occurred over the years. As head coach of men's and women's swimming at the University of Oregon, I experienced the same sneaky approach in May, 1986. After having been told to "recruit like crazy. You will have the budget.", I did so. Then, at a Friday afternoon staff meeting, it was announced that my programs were being dropped. There was no prior discussion with me. After the announcement, the AD quickly left the room and went on vacation. To this day, no explanation was offered to me or the student/athletes.
I feel deeply for Coach Chasson and his team. Submitted by: rafter
May 13, 2008 Decisions like this infuriate and disgust me. How much is the men's team there really costing in terms of the overall athletic budget? Mike is still on payroll for the women's team, the diving team is still extant, and the facility cost remains the same because the pools need to be operated for the women's and diving and water polo teams. I have come to expect hypocrisy, unilateral decision making, deception, and outright dishonesty from athletic directors, and those from major schools like this often live down to my expectations. I understand that economic necessity is a real concern, but the way at which this decision was arrived makes it seem as though no alternatives at all were considered. Disgraceful. Although I love watching ASU football, I wonder how much money they lose in an average year. Submitted by: coachasher
May 13, 2008 I urge everyone concerned with mens swimming anywhere to call Lisa Love, AD at Arizona State University [number corrected below] and voice your opinion! Submitted by: mamafish
May 13, 2008 A better number to call may be 480-965-9743. This is the number of the AD's office. Submitted by: splash168
May 13, 2008 It looks like big time college athletic programs have adopted the same "people" practices that big time companies have. Is it any wonder NOBODY trusts what the ADs/CEOs say to their customers/shareholders/employees? I wish this were an isolated case but alas, it is not. What role did Title IX play in all this?
Full disclosure, I train at ASU for Sun Devil Masters and have had to dodge construction traffic on campus over the last few years. Crow seems to be able to get buck$ for buildings and non-Tempe campu$es, not to mention former Pro Football coaches. Maybe giving Koetter that extension and canning him one year afterwards meant men's swimming had to be sacrificed on the altar of profes...I mean "college" athletics.
Is AD Love going to take a pay cut during these times of fiscal austerity to show leadership?
Maybe when FSN renegotiates their broadcast fees for football and basketball ASU can throw men's swimming a bone.
HA! Submitted by: dadamavi
May 13, 2008 If the NCAA was serious about saving Olympic sports, it would decrease the number of football scholarships from 95 to something that has some relevance to the number of players needed to field a team. This single action would greatly improve the financial health of all college athletic programs. Do we need 50 extra players that never see game time in their college careers at the expense of all other college sports? 50 scholarships * $30K/yr = $1.5 million in savings! Submitted by: jakarta
Reaction Time responses do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Swimming World Magazine or SwimmingWorldMagazine.com.
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