Why does the athletic department have to take such a large budget cut?

• The $260,000 reduction to the athletic budget is part of a $1.15 million budget reduction in the Dean of the College (dean of students) area.
• Recognizing the budget difficulties faced by the athletic department, the dean assigned athletics a budget reduction goal of 2.4 percent, requiring that other departments in the division take cuts averaging approximately 3.5 percent.
• While athletics accounts for nearly one-third of the total net expense budget for the Dean of the College area, the dean assigned the department a smaller proportion of the division’s overall budget reduction target in order to protect the programs, recreational opportunities, and services provided by the department.

What other measures have been taken to balance the athletic budget?

• The athletic budget was reduced by $165,000 as part of an earlier round of budget cuts. Those reductions pared down the department’s administrative budget, increased revenue expectations, and tightened budgets for team travel and equipment, and the maintenance and replacement of fitness equipment.
• Further measures — unless achieved through program elimination — would have required further reductions in team travel and equipment budgets; elimination of one or more support positions; reductions in support for club sports and PE instruction; and increases in student fees, all of which would have a significant direct or indirect impact on the quality of our varsity and recreational sport programs.
• We concluded that cutting program budgets across the board, while equitable, would be detrimental to the long-term health of the department as a whole and would severely set back current efforts to make our teams more competitive and improve the recreational options for our students.

Are other departments eliminating academic programs or student activities?

• Departments are responding to the need to reduce expenditures in a variety of ways. The president has issued a clear and strong statement about the College’s commitment to protect faculty positions, need-based financial aid, and other strategic priorities. (For more information on Dartmouth's budget, see http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/budget)
• This information is being communicated outside the regular budget process in order to give the students and prospective students as much time as possible to explore their options. The College-wide process calls for the budget committee, chaired by the provost, to approve all reduction plans, and the committee has approved the athletic department’s plan. Information on plans involving other divisions of the College will be communicated during the winter term.

How do athletic cuts compare to those in other parts of the College?

• The budget reductions in the athletic department are consistent with the principles put in place when it became clear that cuts would be necessary across the College.
• Efforts have been made to protect the College’s academic areas and student life programs as much as possible.
• Budget cuts will range from 4 percent for most administrative areas to 3.3 percent for the Provost, 2.7 percent for the Dean of the College (which includes the athletic department), 2.1 percent for Development, and 1.4 percent for Arts and Sciences. These cuts total 2.6 percent of the operating budget. Deans and vice presidents are developing their own plans, in consultation with the provost, on how to accomplish these reductions.

WHY SWIMMING?

Why eliminate one whole program when you could have saved the same amount of money by making modest cuts in all athletic programs?

• In the early 1990s, when Dartmouth last reduced the budget, the athletic department made an across-the-board cut that proved detrimental to the long-term health of the department as a whole.
• We decided that if we took the same approach this time, it would severely set back current efforts to make our teams more competitive and improve the recreational options for our students.
• We would be forced to scale back team travel and equipment budgets for every team, decrease support for club sports and physical education, increase student fees, and cut staff positions.

Why swimming and diving, and not some other program?

• This decision in no way reflects on the commitment and passion of the athletes, coaches, and alumni who have contributed so much to the programs and the College over the years.
• While we strive for excellence in all our athletic endeavors, we have been unable to stay competitive in swimming, and believe that success could not be attained without a significant infusion of new resources.
• To be competitive in swimming, we will need far more than money to keep the program going. We would need a new facility, an endowment to fund the maintenance of that facility, and possibly a new location. Constructing a new facility on the existing athletic department footprint would be extremely difficult, and could involve moving other activities. It is simply not feasible in the foreseeable future.

Why do we need a brand-new facility? Can’t we just renovate the pool?

• While it was considered state-of-the-art when it opened in 1963, the 25-yard Karl Michael Pool is now considered a substandard facility for competition in Division I.
• The limitations of our swimming and diving facility hinder our ability to recruit the most promising student-athletes, and ultimately our ability to compete with our peer institutions.

Is this a facilities issue? Did Dartmouth let the pool decline over time?

• The pool itself has been kept in good repair. But at just 25 yards in length, it is now considered a substandard facility for Division I competition.
• When Alumni Gym was built in the early 20th century, it was not designed to include a pool. The humidity generated by the pool has caused structural and other issues in other parts of the Alumni Gym complex.
• We have a plan to address the humidity issues that are affecting other parts of the building.

What if people respond now and say they will fund a new facility?

• A new swimming facility is not a priority at this time. It would take an inordinate effort to construct the facility, including an investment of $20-25 million in the building, its maintenance, and program costs
• And since constructing a new facility on the existing athletic department footprint would be extremely difficult, an even greater obstacle would be identifying a location for such a facility, deciding what existing structure it would displace, and dealing with the resulting “domino effect” on the campus.
• The athletic department’s top facilities priorities are a new competition soccer facility and improvements to Alumni Gym that will benefit our varsity teams and our recreation programs.
• In addition, we need to raise funds to increase the endowment for Dartmouth athletics.

OUR STUDENT-ATHLETES

What options are open to the students affected by this?

• Athletic department staff are prepared to do whatever they can to support the student-athletes affected by this change (nine are seniors who will have completed their final swim season).
• If they would like to, they can participate in swimming and diving as a club sport. Dartmouth’s financial aid is not contingent on athletic participation, so they will not be at risk financially.
• For those who wish to transfer, although we hope that they will not, our staff will be happy to write recommendations or phone other coaches. NCAA regulations do not require a transfer student-athlete to “sit out” a year when they leave an institution that has eliminated their program.

Will swimming and diving become a club sport?

• We’re fully prepared to help our student-athletes if they wish to pursue this. As with all of our 23 club sports, a new swimming and diving club team would receive administrative support, a modest subsidy, and access to the facilities.
• We would also offer our Friends of Dartmouth Swimming mailing list if they wish to solicit annual financial support, within the guidelines for all Friends Groups.
• Staff could also help them identify potential competition with other clubs. While they would have regularly scheduled use of the pools, as a club they would not be allotted the same pool-time they had as a varsity team.

What about swimmers applying to Dartmouth? Many are recruited by other coaches and have said no to other colleges.

• Athletic department staff are now contacting those prospective students identified by the swimming coaches as recruited athletes to inform them of the College’s decision.
• These students have been encouraged to contact a specific liaison in the Admissions Office if they have questions about the status of their application to Dartmouth or need advice about contacting another institution.

Dartmouth swimmers and divers are known as excellent students. Did you consider that when you made the decision?

• Dartmouth encourages and supports high academic achievement in all of our sports programs, and many of our student-athletes perform at high levels in the classroom and in the community.
• In a given year, a team’s academic performance might be higher or lower depending on a few individuals. Ultimately, however, we don’t believe that team GPA is the criteria by which we should select which sports to offer.

OUR COMMITMENT TO ATHLETICS

Athletics is such an important part of the Dartmouth culture. Won’t the elimination of swimming and diving diminish that?

• No. Dartmouth will continue to offer one of the nation’s most extensive Division I athletic programs with 32 varsity sports. The 324 Division I institutions offer an average of 19 varsity sports.
• We offer participation opportunities to more than 20 percent of our students, compared with an average of 5.4 percent in Division I.
• This is a very difficult decision because we value the students, coaches, alumni, and parents who have been involved with our swimming and diving program, but we believe it will enable us to maintain and strengthen our overall athletic program.
• In addition, the College has included major athletic projects on its list of fund-raising priorities, including the construction of a new competition soccer facility, renovations to Alumni Gym, and broad-based programmatic support.

The College has said that it wants to provide more alternatives to the Greek system. Isn’t this move contrary to the goal of the Student Life Initiative?

• Dartmouth will continue to seek ways to maximize opportunities for students to participate in athletics, recreation, and physical education programs.
• While it was not a factor in this decision, the elimination of the swim teams actually has the potential to dramatically increase the number of students who will have access to the pool, especially during the prime hours of 3 - 7 p.m.

Did Title IX gender equity issues influence the decision?

• No. Dartmouth’s is one of the most gender-equitable athletic programs in the country, among the top five of the 324 Division I institutions in terms of “substantial proportionality.”
• While some institutions have eliminated men’s teams to comply with the requirements of Title IX, that was not our objective here. This decision affects approximately the same number of male and female student-athletes.

How will this decision affect other athletic programs, especially water polo?

• Athletics expects to be healthier after this difficult decision is implemented.
• Like all club sports, water polo is student-initiated and student-run, and can continue as long as there is student interest.
• Since the volunteer water polo coach is head coach of men’s swimming and diving, it’s possible the club might face the challenge of identifying a new coach, depending on its current coach’s plans.

Does this affect Dartmouth’s status as a member of the Ivy League?

• This does not affect our status with the Ivy League in any way.
• While Dartmouth will become the only member of the Ivy League not to sponsor intercollegiate swimming, this will not set a precedent. Penn and Columbia, for example, do not sponsor men’s or women’s ice hockey. Skiing, a successful sport at Dartmouth, is not supported by all the other Ivies.
• Our Ivy League colleagues respect the autonomy of institutions to determine what sport offerings are most appropriate for them. To be recognized as an “Ivy sport” with an official “Ivy champion,” at least five institutions must sponsor the sport at the varsity level. Our decision will leave the Ivy League with seven swimming programs.

Have other colleges eliminated athletic teams?

Return to official news release, "Dartmouth Announces Elimination of Varsity Swimming and Diving Programs"