Big Ten Swimming & Diving Coaches React to Iowa Cutting Team, “Our Conference Is Weaker Than When We Started”

Big Ten coaches at the 2016 College Challenge. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Big Ten Swimming & Diving Coaches React to Iowa Cutting Team

On Friday afternoon, the University of Iowa it was officially cutting its men’s and women’s swim teams, which would make the Hawkeyes the fifth Division I swim team to get axed, and the first in the power five conferences. Iowa has been a member of the Big Ten since its inception and has won three conference titles in 1936, 1981 and 1982.

Iowa became the first Big Ten school to cuts its swim team since the University of Illinois lost its men’s team at the end of the 1993 season, making this a truly historic and sad day for the Big Ten Conference as a whole.

Swimming World reached out to the head coaches of the Big Ten Conference to get their thoughts on the devastating news that occurred in their conference yesterday. Their sentiments ring true throughout the rest of the swimming community as a whole, as the sport is feeling the economic impacts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Iowa coach Marc Long has been head coach since the fall of 2004 and has been in charge of both men’s and women’s programs since 2005.

A Change.org petition to save Iowa swimming and diving has been started and you can sign here.

Kelly Kremer. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Minnesota’s Kelly Kremer:

“I feel like we are all Iowa today. We certainly could all be Iowa tomorrow. I am sad for my friends and their families at Iowa whose lives have just been turned upside down. I’m sad for the student athletes at Iowa who are losing the opportunity to represent the school they chose and love. I’m sad for the Hawkeye swimming and diving alumni who now lost a major part of their connection to Iowa.

“I’m sad for our Conference because we are weaker now than we were when the day started. I’m sad for our sport. And I’m hopeful that our coaches group within the B1G and beyond start to take dramatic measures to save opportunities for our young swimmers and divers to experience college swimming and diving.”

Yuri Suguiyama. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Wisconsin’s Yuri Suguiyama:

“Devastating news, for sure. At this point in time, a loss of one program in NCAA Swimming and Diving is a loss for us all.”

Penn State’s Tim Murphy:

“Our hearts go out to the entire Iowa Swimming & Diving family, in particular the current student-athletes and head coach Marc Long and his staff. This is heartbreaking for the Iowa student-athletes and staff, and we share in their heartbreak. The COVID-19 pandemic has created many challenges and it is certainly difficult to learn that we will be losing a valued member of our conference following this academic year.”

Purdue’s Dan Ross:

“I lived through Illinois getting cut in 1993 and that was hard at the time. I’ve known Marc for a long time and their staff. There is no one in the NCAA smiling today among swimming coaches. No one wants to see another swim team get hurt and especially in our conference. The people on message boards will say they haven’t won enough or haven’t done this or that – you can’t go there. The main thing is some opportunities are lost for swimmers which is always a shame. People in my profession lost their jobs and are going to have to find something else to do. When you see it happen, it’s really tough and in our league which has already lost enough, it just hurts.”

Ray Looze (left) talks with Iowa’s Marc Long (middle) at the 2018 Big Ten – ACC Challenge. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Indiana’s Ray Looze:

“The level of sadness and devastation I’m feeling, I feel like I am a part of their family. I’m so upset. It’s such an important program to collegiate swimming that these kinds of things we need to stand up and fight. Dropping sports needs to be the complete last resort for anybody and there’s lots of alums that if you let them know your program is struggling, they’ll step in to help you. There’s other ways to get this done than this. I know all of their staff very well. I’m devastated for everyone in that program and for the Big Ten – it’s a very important program for our conference. I’m hoping it can be reversed – I really do. I’m getting concerned that if we get hit with too many of these at one time that it will be a domino effect.

“I told Marc and Sarah (Stockwell-Gregson), who swam for me, that if there is anything I can do to support them mentally, I’d really like to do it. They had no indication until yesterday morning – it came out of nowhere. Sarah was one of our great All-Americans and I called her and said I was thinking of you and your wife and your family. We just got to find a better way to deal with this.”

Michigan State’s Matt Gianiodis:

“Marc is one of my best friends in the conference and I feel for him and I feel for the kids on their team. This is obviously very difficult and my sympathy goes out to them and hopefully they can figure out a way to maybe reverse it. I just really feel for Marc and the kids on the team. They are on our schedule every year and we were going to lead our schedule this year off with them so I am familiar with their team and coaching staff there and like I said Marc is one of my best friends. I had heard it was coming, somebody called me and told me they heard it would happen and I sent him a text because I didn’t want to call – I know how hectic it could have been for him.”

Bill Dorenkott. Photo Courtesy: Peter H. Bick

Ohio State’s Bill Dorenkott:

“Iowa swimming and diving has one of the most storied programs in collegiate history. They boast over 100 years of aquatic excellence from Olympians, NCAA Champions, All-Americans, to sustained Big Ten successes. Their alumni had a proud and strong presence in all that goes with being a Hawkeye in and out of the pool.

Knowing many Iowa swimming and diving alumni personally, it is obvious that their collegiate experiences, both academic and athletic, have shaped them into amazing individuals who demonstrate the true value of intercollegiate athletics. That value is to provide young people with the skills and behaviors to go on to lives of purpose that positively impact their families, communities and mankind. In that regard, Iowa swimming and diving excels.

This season marks my 26th season in the Big Ten having served at two member schools in Penn State and Ohio State. I am proud to be a member of the finest conference in the country. We will support our member institutions regardless of sport. My hope is that those in leadership positions are able to press pause, gain clarity and determine a course of action that allows for the rich and meaningful future experiences that we know, love and value as collegiate athletes. We are stronger together.

Illinois’ Sue Novitsky:

“It was a very shocking and devastating day to hear that the University of Iowa was dropping 4 sports, including the men’s and women’s swimming & diving teams. My heart goes out to all of the athletes and the coaching staff as they try to navigate what comes next. Marc Long and the swimming and diving coaching staff worked to put together competitive teams athletically and also teams that understood the importance of the opportunity for a terrific Big Ten School education and also giving back to the community as a whole.

“That anyone has to lose their opportunity to compete and others lose their opportunity to continue to develop strong and outstanding individuals is a tremendous loss for the University of Iowa and a loss across the country for decreased opportunities in the impacted sports. There are many little kids that will never have the chance to see Iowa athletes in these sports and be able to have dreams of being a Hawkeye in the future and that is very sad.”

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Michelle Schwarcz-Haubrich

3 years ago

Unreal

Susan Strickland Scruggs

3 years ago

So sad for these dedicated athletes.

Lisa Alcorn

3 years ago

Bring in University Of Cincinnati!

Andy Gallion

3 years ago

I love football, but I’d love to see football absorb a lot of these cuts. They surely don’t need that huge “quality control” staff, and with covid decimating revenues like bowl payouts and TV contracts, you have to wonder when the NCAA will start reducing football scholarships to prevent the non-revenue apocalypse.

Mike Ketterling

3 years ago

Reply to Andy Gallion

Andy Gallion will never happen:(

Andy Gallion

3 years ago

Reply to Andy Gallion

Mike Ketterling nope. Can you see Nick Saban cutting staff or budget so women’s lax can survive?

Mike Ketterling

3 years ago

Reply to Andy Gallion

Andy Gallion no! My daughter is in her third year of D1 swimming. I hope that her school still has a program next year, but you never know.

Mike Ketterling

3 years ago

Reply to Andy Gallion

Andy Gallion hell no!

Charlene Tallen

3 years ago

Just a travesty. Heads should be rolling all over Iowa.

David Moreno

3 years ago

Just more reason to not like how the NCAA distributes funds for non revenue sports. Makes me not want to watch any NCAA sports.

Jeff Vance

3 years ago

Seems like college swimming at D1 schools is slowly going away. Maybe not, but seems like it.

Julie Tellier

3 years ago

Such BS!! How about reducing travel scrimmages out of state for football and cutting other travel costs. I’m a hockey girl not a football girl but will not watch NCAA football ever again

Donna Furse

3 years ago

Grrrrrr

Carlo Cordon

3 years ago

Very upsetting

Eric Hawkins

3 years ago

And now they want to give students an extra year of eligibility. What about the kids that had no championship last spring? #footballpriviledge

Pablo Valedon

3 years ago

It’s happening across all three NCAA Divisions. Swim and diving and even water polo is being cut for other more lucrative sports. Example, football, basketball, and women’s sports

KRW

3 years ago

I’m wondering how many redundant nonessential administrative positions inside the athletic dept have been axed prior to this decision to drop swimming. Time for programs to look at self funding through endowments since these athletic dept’s love to throw away money on these types of nonessential positions.

Anonymous

3 years ago

Reply to KRW

I agree! So True!!

John Mulsoff

3 years ago

I agree

Tony Heldreth

3 years ago

Pretty sure this wouldn’t have happened if there had been a ‘20 football season for the B10

Rusty Machovec

3 years ago

Cut the cost of football so you can have more student athletes.

Football could easily be cut without harming the on field product. First and foremost the product is the players and the players will still be there.

Aaron Kassebaum

3 years ago

It is a terrible decision …swimmer student athletes have some of the highest GPA averages of all student athletes ….and they take from swimming a work ethic that makes them successful in life!

Mark Finnegan

3 years ago

Maybe just cut a few million off the head football and basketball coaches salary. I doubt they will starve.

Gary

3 years ago

Is it time to re-think college athletics? Can Iowa swimming
maintain it’s program un-affiliated with the University of Iowa and the NCAA? Something like an AAU program, or what we’re seeing with basketball’s “G” league? Or, something like I imagine with soccer (i.e. football) in the UK
(i.e. teams in divisions supporting a the top-tier Premier League)? I look forward to the day when this happens for NCAA football and basketball…sever the linkage between the sport and the academic institution. At my university, I’m seeing academics dumbed-down for the sake of athletics.