I personally have not inundated you with letters and emails during the past month, as I know you have been deluged with plenty.  However, after digesting all the material to which I have been privy, I wish to present my "top ten" in two categories. I hope you will take the time to read them.

 

Top Ten Facts Regarding Reinstatement of Dartmouth Swimming and Diving

 

 No. 10: Both the Student Assembly and the Alumni Council have passed

 resolutions calling for the reinstatement of swimming and diving. This

 decision has engendered more anger, outcry and backlash among

 Students, Parents, Alumni, Friends and the Nationwide Academic,

 Athletic and Press Community at large than any of you might ever have

 expected.

 

 No. 9: Swimming is the most participatory sport in the country. It is

 also considered to be one of the healthiest, as it is relatively injury

 free, and promotes cardiovascular and muscular development without stressing

 joints and bones. Many collegiate swimmers continue to compete long

 after college and well into their nineties.

 

 No. 8: There is precedence for reinstatement of Swimming and Diving teams

 previously tagged for elimination, including: University of California

 Irvine, Indiana University (Penn.), James Madison University, University

 of Miami (Ohio) and University of Washington. Closer to home, there is a

 classic precedence for Ivy League reinstatement in the Princeton

 Wrestling Program (though only after a prolonged and sometimes bitter

 battle between alumni and the administration, which hopefully Dartmouth will avoid).

 

 No. 7: There is substantial precedence for endowing coaches and teams;

 examples include the Dartmouth Football Coach and the Sailing Teams,

 the Cornell Swim Coach, and (in a master stroke of timing - November 25,

 2002 - the Bucknell ($250 million endowment, 3000 students) swimming

 and diving teams AND a new 50 meter pool.

 

 No. 6. The Karl Michael pool is as good or better than half of the Ivy

 League pools (Penn, Columbia, Yale and Cornell are considered inferior).

 Moreover, a new 50 meter competition pool does not cost $25,000.000;

 more like $7-10,000,000. (Although a new pool is not envisioned

 herein, the excessive cost put forth was truly a "red herring".)

 

 No. 5: A recent survey indicates that Swimming and Diving teams in

 general have more Academic All-Americans than any other sport. In that

 survey Dartmouth's women's team was 18th in the country in Academic

 All-Americans, tops in the Ivy League. The Men's team was 4th in the

 country, with no other Ivies in the top 29.

 

 No. 4: With the elimination of Swimming and Diving, Dartmouth would tie

 Columbia for the fewest number of Ivy League Varsity programs (32).

 Amherst, Williams and Middlebury, all Division 3 colleges with student

 populations less than half of Dartmouth, field between 29-31 Varsity

 sports programs. Elimination would leave Dartmouth as the only one of

 US News top 25 Universities without a swimming and diving program. It

 would also cost approximately $27,000 per year in lost NCAA sports

 sponsorship payments.

 

 No. 3: Dartmouth's 80 year old swimming and diving program, despite a

 recent decline in competiveness in its league, has a long and storied record:

 MEN: 67.5% winning (45) or even (9) seasons (0f 80).(1921-1989 - 80.5%)

 54% of 816 dual meets won.

 WOMEN: 41.4% of winning (6) or even (6) seasons (of 29) 41.2% of dual meets won

 COMBINED: 50.6% of 1007 dual meets won.

 NUMBER OF DARTMOUTH ALL-AMERICANS (as of 1999)

 Men : 48 (4th of 16 listed teams behind Skiing, Football and Lacrosse)

 Women: 8 (4th of 13 listed teams behind Skiing, Lacrosse and Sailing)

 

 No. 2: Grass roots campaigns have sprung up to raise funds for and

 additional year (parents) and perpetual endowments (swimming alumni).

 

 AND The No. 1 Fact Regarding Reinstatement of Dartmouth Swimming and

 Diving Teams: Over 700 Dartmouth students rallied in the

 midst of exam time to protest the elimination of Dartmouth Swimming and

 Diving; the most for any cause in recent memory.

 

Top Ten Reasons to Reinstate Dartmouth Swimming and Diving

 

 No. 10: There is a strong link to the discipline that swimming/diving

 teaches and the academic goals of students. Every student-swimmer/diver

 has his/her character and personality shaped by the tremendous amount

 of commitment and dedication required to participate in the sport.

 Competitive swimming breeds success and helps prepare students for

 life. The most successful people are ones who set goals and work

 toward them for their own sake rather than for the crowd. Competitive

 swimmers and divers are the very people that organization/institutions

 want to attract. Their dedication, self-confidence, decision-making

 and leadership skills are what makes them so attractive.

 

 No. 9:Swimmers and Divers are the embodiment of the concept of scholar

 - athlete. At colleges and universities around the country swim team

 members generally have much higher grade point averages in comparison

 to student athletes on other sports teams. Swimming is a sport that can

 continue into later life. Master's swimming has grown exponentially in

 recent years. In our country, where there is a problem with obesity

 and lack of fitness, more consideration should be given to a sport

 that also promotes a healthy lifestyle in post college years. Only a

 few other sports fit into that category.

 

 No. 8: Swimming and Diving "probably represent much of the best in

 college sports, achieving a true combination of athletic and academic

 excellence, even if in obscurity" (James Duderstadt, President Emeritus

 University of Michigan, "Intercollegiate Athletics and the American

 University"). He laments that sports like Swimming and Diving are being

 crushed in the wake of high-profile, expensive sports like Football and Basketball.

 

 No. 7: Eliminating Swimming and Diving gives a black eye to all

 Dartmouth athletics and is a serious threat to Dartmouth's reputation

 in general. What team will be next? The Valley News gives a compelling

 argument for Baseball. Coaches of all sports around the country will

 be warning recruits not to go to Dartmouth because their sport might be

 eliminated. Parents and high school students have already become wary.

 "High school students, their parents, and their schools watch

 attentively for the signals that colleges and universities send."

 (Schulman and Bowen, "The Game of Life", p. 278)

 

 No. 6: Reaction from Alumni across the country, swimming and

 non-swimming, indicates there will be an adverse effect on fund-raising

 activities. Not only will the effect be on the amounts individuals are

 willing to contribute, but also, and perhaps as importantly, on the

 willingness of alums to serve as solicitors for the annual and capital

 campaigns. "No one should underestimate the importance of those

 alumni/ae --- who care strongly enough about a school to express their

 opinions passionately. Institutions need this kind of commitment to

 survive and to thrive." (Shulman and Bowen, "The Game of Life", p. 308)

 

 No. 5: Dartmouth swimmers and divers are elite athletes who have

 trained for 10-17 years - 11 months a year, averaging 20+ hours per

 week. Most Dartmouth swimmers and divers were recruited by

 Dartmouth to participate on its Varsity team, many forgoing other

 opportunities, including college scholarships. Now these swimmers and

 divers have nowhere else to go, except to a lesser school (Ivy transfers

 are considered highly unlikely).

 

 No.4: The decision to eliminate swimming and diving has affected 53

 students and their parents who pay nearly $40,000 per year for their

 son/daughter to attend and swim for Dartmouth. Is any other program

 being eliminated that goes right to the heart of a select group of

 students - literally eliminating one of the most compelling reasons

 for them to have chosen Dartmouth?

 

 No. 3: The swimming and diving teams may not be winning their share of

 meets, but they ARE competitive.. Despite lack of recruiting support

 from admissions until recently, Dartmouth continues to attract outstanding

 swimmers who excel individually against their Ivy League rivals. The

 men and women representing Dartmouth were among the top athletes in

 their youth divisions. They qualified for age group, high school and

 YMCA championships, and Junior Nationals. Ivy League competition is

 among the best in the country with numerous Olympians and National record

 holders competing. (Perhaps a few additional non-Ivy meets would

 bolster the win-loss record, but then, "Wins aren't the only test of winners"

 - Jim Wright at 2002 Dartmouth Football banquet).

 

 No. 2: Parents and Alumni stand ready to raise funds to endow the

 teams. "There is no indication that --- private giving to athletics ----- is

 likely to detract in any substantial way from fundraising for broader

 educational purposes. There is empirical evidence in support of this

 conclusion" (Shulman and Bowen, "The Game of Life", p. 214-215). They

 go on to say that giving to athletics may, in fact, lead to giving for

 general purposes. Money collected from athletes would probably not come

 otherwise; this may lead to the "Habit of Giving"

 

 AND The No. 1 Reason to Reinstate Dartmouth Swimming and Diving: While

 budget decisions are painful to make, the thought that cutting out two

 teams will make athletics stronger is an argument that only works for

 pruning trees or shrubs. Amputation is never an alternative if therapy

 or surgery could suffice. The current College budget ailment is

 temporary and this "solution" is permanent. The endowment will recover

 - it always has. However, swimming and diving cannot wait for that time.

 

 REINSTATEMENT MUST BE DONE NOW

 

 Respectfully Submitted, Stephen M. Mullins, '54. All-American, 1953-55