Oregon State to Cut Swimming and Diving

Photo Courtesy: Oregon State University

Oregon State University Vice President and Director of Athletics Scott Barnes announced Monday that intercollegiate women’s swimming will be discontinued by OSU at the end of the 2018-19 season.
Barnes said the decision to discontinue swimming is based upon Oregon State’s commitment to offer all student-athletes a quality, equitable and competitive NCAA experience in keeping with the Athletics Department’s strategic plan; provide quality and equitable facilities for all teams; and balance financial requirements for athletics facilities.

“This decision followed a comprehensive review of all sports,” Barnes said. “Facility requirements contributed to this decision as we realize that OSU campus pool facilities do not meet NCAA standards.”

OSU women’s swim team holds home meets at the city-owned Osborn Aquatics Center.

“It is cost prohibitive to renovate existing campus swimming facilities,” Barnes said. “A new swimming and diving facility would cost about $20 million to build, not including the cost of annual maintenance. Investing in competitive swimming program facilities would negatively impact the ability to serve facility requirements for all sports and all OSU student-athletes.”

OSU’s swimming roster includes 21 student-athletes and two coaches.

“Oregon State University will provide campus resources to assist all team members.” Barnes said. “All student-athlete scholarships will be honored as long as they maintain university progress toward graduation.”

OSU will assist any student-athlete that wishes to enter the NCAA transfer portal at any time during their tenure at the university. Student-athletes will be immediately eligible to compete in swimming at any institution per NCAA regulations.

“I want to commend the efforts of Coach Buffin, Coach Wong and each of our swimming student-athletes. They have represented OSU and our swimming program with utmost class,” Deputy Athletic Director for Administration and Senior Woman’s Administrator Marianne Vydra said. “We are mindful of the effects this decision will have on current team members, their families and alumnus of the program, and we will do everything in our power to assist personally the young women and staff move forward as they seek opportunities beyond OSU swimming.”

With the discontinuation of swimming, OSU will field a total of 17 intercollegiate sports that includes 10 programs on the women’s side: gymnastics, volleyball, golf, rowing, basketball, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, softball, soccer, and cross country. Men’s sports include football, basketball, baseball, soccer, golf, wrestling and rowing.

“Moving forward, Oregon State Athletics will sponsor approximately 550 opportunities for its student-athletes to compete at the highest level of NCAA intercollegiate sports,” Barnes said.

Oregon State recently finished ninth out of nine teams at the Women’s Pac-12 Swimming and Diving Championships this weekend. They were as high as 20th at NCAA’s in 2004 and have had nine All-Americans.

Saori Haraguchi was NCAA champion in the 200 butterfly in 2008. She was also fifth in the 400 IM and eighth in the 200 IM that year.

Birte Steven was as high as second in the 200 breaststroke at NCAAs in 2004 and was third in the 100 breast that year as well. Steven was sixth in the 200 breast at NCAAs in 2003.

Most recently, Samantha Harrison was seventh in the 1650 in 2015.

Mari Embertson, Naya Higashijima and Amy van Loben Sels were also NCAA A-finalists in their careers with the Beavers. Embertson was seventh in the 400 IM in 2004, Higashijima was eighth in the 200 fly in 2003, and van Loben Sels was eighth in the 50 free in 1994.

The above press release was posted by Swimming World in conjunction with Oregon State Swimming and Diving. For press releases and advertising inquiries please contact Advertising@SwimmingWorld.com.

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132 Comments

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Malcolm Neely

5 years ago

Mark Worden

Malcolm Neely

5 years ago

Dam!

Glen Silvers

5 years ago

University of Washington, Oregon, Oregon State, no swimming. Ridiculous.

Amanda Braun Thorne

5 years ago

Reply to Glen Silvers

Glen Silvers Midwest we still have swimming programs.

Katie Winters

5 years ago

Reply to Glen Silvers

I went to hs in Oregon, was recruited by Fresno State, who cut swimming and diving my junior year(they’ve since restarted the program, but that didn’t help us).
Most go south to CA.

Glen Silvers

5 years ago

Reply to Glen Silvers

Katie Winters did you continue somewhere else?

Linda Engledow

5 years ago

Diana Terry Bolding

5 years ago

Donna Pearce Price

5 years ago

La Ra

5 years ago

Reply to Donna Pearce Price

🙁

La Ra

5 years ago

Reply to Donna Pearce Price

Noooooo

Donna Pearce Price

5 years ago

Reply to Donna Pearce Price

Its bad when beavers can’t swim .

Kathy Brown Tatakis

5 years ago

Well that is just crazy ..

Peggy Haslach

5 years ago

Beavers are great swimmers!

Brooke Lee

5 years ago

Reply to Peggy Haslach

Peggy Haslach beavers and ducks with no swimming programs… smh

Peggy Haslach

5 years ago

Reply to Peggy Haslach

Brooke Lee right!,

Angie Chu

5 years ago

Ouch

Jonathan Ballard

5 years ago

Nick Wilker

5 years ago

This is such bullshit one of the best sports out an they want to cut it from college an high school.. If u promote it maybe it could bring in money the football an baseball.. Swimming should be more Main stream

Stephen Anderson

5 years ago

Bailey Stevens, good thing you didn’t go there!

Bailey Stevens

5 years ago

Reply to Stephen Anderson

Stephen Anderson dang, yep very glad I didn’t

Karin Knudson O'Connell

5 years ago

That’s terrible.

Jim Grisham

5 years ago

No swimming Beavers?

Kristine McCulloch Bachand

5 years ago

Sad news!!!!

Jodi Flanders Orlando

5 years ago

Paige Orlando ?

Dennis Baker

5 years ago

Ridiculous

James Hanson

5 years ago

Reply to Dennis Baker

What a depressing thing

Kathi Coleman Knoedler

5 years ago

So sad!

Dena Barker

5 years ago

So sad!

Richard P. Morrall

5 years ago

Or, in short, another result of the disastrous Title IX!

Kimberly Bimber Smith

5 years ago

I wonder if a new $20 million football stadium would be cost prohibitive?

John McCormack

5 years ago

Reply to Kimberly Bimber Smith

Kimberly Bimber Smith not for that OUTSTANDING football program… PAC-12 conf is on last legs financially – shocking

Rob Duguay

5 years ago

Looks like Puget Sound and Oregon Masters are going to be powerhouses in the 18-24 Age Group

Carol Inman Greeman

5 years ago

I bet they would happily swim elsewhere than not at all. Sad to lose these programs.

Josh Hall

5 years ago

Reply to Carol Inman Greeman

Carol Inman Greeman they swim at the same place for the last 20 plus years. The facility does not need to be replaced, it serves the city and the women’s team wonderfully.

Carol Inman Greeman

5 years ago

Reply to Carol Inman Greeman

So sad for these athletes.

Holly Schuppert Hager

5 years ago

This is horrible, they want to continue roaring, over swimming, they are completely dismayed, thank goodness my kids don’t want to go to school there. There is a major problem here

Elizabeth Taylor

5 years ago

Sara Stacy

KayLee Kocher

5 years ago

Sad Day

Kelley Harman OShea

5 years ago

Terrible!

Laureen Philipp

5 years ago

Maya Philipp

John Steelhammer

5 years ago

So wrong, hardest working and academically sound athletes a school could wish for. Colleges and Universities, now all about the $$$$, not the kids, just a business anymore ?

Brooke Lee

5 years ago

Reply to John Steelhammer

John Steelhammer couldn’t agree with you more!

Sarah Zurn

5 years ago

No way!! How sad.

John McCormack

5 years ago

Not even the women’s programs are safe anymore. USA Swimming stands idle yet again…

Steven Rose

5 years ago

Reply to John McCormack

John McCormack A single women’s program is cut in the course of a few decades, compared to the dozens of men’s programs cut every year… Yet you think they’re some how equal?

John McCormack

5 years ago

Reply to John McCormack

Steven Rose no idea where you are drawing that conclusion. Pt is that yes men’s programs have been devastated and NOW women’s programs aren’t safe either

Peter Paul Reich

5 years ago

Reply to John McCormack

John McCormack ??

Rick Stanfield

5 years ago

Must be that scintillating 33-65 record since 2010 for the Beaver FB team.

Matt Ponds

5 years ago

Just say you need resources for football.

Erin Carne McConkey

5 years ago

Marina Friedrich

5 years ago

Sad news for the PNW. Swimming is such a great sport.

Sharon Rinaldi

5 years ago

Boo hiss?

Dale Blanchard

5 years ago

No one makes $10 million in the National Swimming League.

Joey Moffitt

5 years ago

Julianne Paige I don’t like your school anymore

Tucker Rivera

5 years ago

How does a football school in a power 5 conference not have enough money for a swim program

Jan Kemmerling Rice

5 years ago

Reply to Tucker Rivera

Tucker Rivera ask Clemson

Tucker Rivera

5 years ago

Reply to Tucker Rivera

Jan preach‼️

Nancy Petrick

5 years ago

Reply to Tucker Rivera

Tucker Rivera they Choose to spend it only on sports that have a ball

Brenden Conlin

5 years ago

Brad Dunn

5 years ago

Reply to Brenden Conlin

This is shameful

Mary Ahola

5 years ago

Oh no. Love those Beaver swimmers and having them close to home. I think this is terrible!!

Colleen Hazlett

5 years ago

I see Title IX in their future☹️

Randy Warick

5 years ago

Bummer

Nicholas Pedrazzini

5 years ago

Dean Pugh

Katie Winters

5 years ago

Kyle Cowan

5 years ago

Ridiculous…best students on campus!

Ed McKinnon

5 years ago

Well one thing is for sure the overall GPA of the Beavers student athletes will now take a nose dive

Shawn Cowper Daniels

5 years ago

Julie Keller James what’s going on in Oregon??

Julie Keller James

5 years ago

Reply to Shawn Cowper Daniels

Shawn what the heck is going at OSU. Maybe the Duck can pick up swimming!! They have a wonderful facility

Lisa Osowski

5 years ago

Hey athletic department, you should of been investing as much time and money in this program as the athletes and coaching staff have. Swimmers work as hard as any athlete in any sport year round in hopes to be able to compete at the college level. My heart goes out to those swimmers today.

Jeff Bailey

5 years ago

Boo hiss.