Creative Financing To Save a College Swimming Program

By Jason Marsteller

PHOENIX, Arizona, September 8. IN response to recent information discovered in a New York Times article by Pete Thamel on August 23 in which Rutgers University had failed to seek repayment of $225,000 for a broken contract with the University of Buffalo for a football game originally slated to occur this season, the Rutgers men’s swimming and diving team sent an e-mail to the University of Buffalo Athletics Director Warde Manuel offering the team up for that same amount.

The following is the text of that reply printed verbatim:
“Dear University of Buffalo Athletic Director Warde Manuel,

An article in the New York Times by Pete Thamel dated August 23rd, 2006 discusses how the University of Buffalo football team was scheduled to play Rutgers Scarlet Knights in Piscataway, NJ this season and be compensated $225,000.

As of the publication of the article, Rutgers Athletic Director Robert E. Mulcahy has failed to seek repayment for the broken contract.

According to the article, A.D. Mulcahy would like to apply this to next season's schedule. However, we have another proposal on how you can invest that money.

Following the 2006-2007 season, Rutgers will be eliminating its Men's Swimming & Diving program due to budget constraints. You have the opportunity to purchase the team.

That's right, we are putting the swim team up for sale, and since much of the costs of operating the men's swim team are shared with the women's team, the operating costs for next year can be paid for with the $225,000 that you have already received from Rutgers Athletic Department.

That's right! For only $225,000, you can buy a team that is a model for all other collegiate teams to follow. It has a rich history of success not just in the pool, but also in the classroom and in the community: Rutgers Men's Swimming & Diving has a 90 year history of excellence, and has yielded 6 Olympians, 6 World Record Holders, and 13 National Champions.

It is the only Big East team to send men to 3 of the last 4 NCAA Champion.”

While we here at Swimming World Magazine are sure that purchasing a team from another NCAA institution would violate at least one of the thousands of rules derived from the member-institutions that make up the NCAA, we continue to support the Rutgers men’s swimming and diving team as it continues its struggle to remain alive.

For more information on how you can help Rutgers, please visit www.saverutgersswimming.org.

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