Clemson Univ swimming be phased out

Clemson does manufacture some of the best blue-cheese though. Had to pick up $40 worth to take home to family memebers while I was there.

Athletics is entirely self-funded at Clemson... with an extra $2.8 million kicked back to the academic side of campus. That's both good and bad. The football team is a golden goose that pays for a lot of other sports programs. But the budget does have to balance. There's surely at least some truth to the implication that the swimming program paid for the football coach's raise. It's too bad there are not 80,000 people willing to pay $50 each to watch a swim meet, in which case we wouldn't be having this discussion.

The facility is good enough. If it wasn't good enough how would they be able to have a women's program? They're cutting women's swimming, too. It's women's diving that they're keeping.

Okay, playing devil's advocate here. I hate that Clemson is losing its program. But all of this depends on one's own personal bias. The Clemson football program yields a profit. Many folks are up in arms because the football program is keeping more of its own money instead of 'sharing' with the swim team. But someone who doesn't care a thing about any sports could argue that we who support NCAA swimming are also being greedy. After all, it takes several hundred thousand dollars a year in university funds to pay for swim coaches' salaries and travel and scholarships that directly benefit only 30-40 (probably upper-middle class) swimmers. Those funds could be diverted to pay for scholarships for needy students or university facilities or amenities available to all students. I'm just sayin'.....

This whole story really annoys me on a number of levels. First, one of my best swim buddies swam at Clemson and is a proud Tiger and really support(ed) the program. He's in a rotten mood about this. Second, a very close friend's son is/was headed there as a freshman next Fall. This kid is a spectacular swimmer and a very accomplished student and could have gone to most any program in the nation. The mood at his house is bleak right now. And, lastly, if you know Clemson, you know they spare no expense on football. It's ridiculous. There are plenty of schools with great football programs who also have great swimming programs, three others with orange in their colors come immediately to mind. They can rot down there as far as I'm concerned now.

Plenty of schools would love to have that facility... -Rick

My daughter is headed to Clemson this fall as a freshman with purple and orange adorning her room and her parents' cars. She is pretty shocked and forlorn since she commited way back in October. I am most incensed about the timing of this announcement...April 30 which is one day before the last day that high school students make their final choice as to what school they will attend. There was not even an inkling that this program was in jeopardy (although I guess you have to assume that every program is in jeopardy at this point). We feel somewhat fortunate that at least there is a 2 year phaseout period in which the alumni have a chance to step up with fund raising efforts. Other swim programs have been dropped with even less sense of fairness to the student athletes involved.

Plenty of schools would love to have that facility... -Rick I agree. It's not the best, but it's not the worst. I think the school is disingenuous when they cite the pool as the issue. It has been estimated that it costs the school a million dollars a year to run this program. Is it improper to allocate some revenue from the financially successful basketball and football programs to support the ancillary athletic programs? I don't think so since it is these programs, alumni, and community that supports the basketball and football teams. Besides who is going to enhance Clemson's student-athlete GPA if not the 65 fully matriculated swimmers?

My daughter is headed to Clemson this fall as a freshman with purple and orange adorning her room and her parents' cars. She is pretty shocked and forlorn since she commited way back in October. I am most incensed about the timing of this announcement...April 30 which is one day before the last day that high school students make their final choice as to what school they will attend. There was not even an inkling that this program was in jeopardy (although I guess you have to assume that every program is in jeopardy at this point). We feel somewhat fortunate that at least there is a 2 year phaseout period in which the alumni have a chance to step up with fund raising efforts. Other swim programs have been dropped with even less sense of fairness to the student athletes involved. I'm sorry this happened to your daughter. I hope the efforts will work and the program can be saved.

Commitment deadlines or not, I'd imagine rising freshmen could still change their decision, given the special circumstances. Maybe, but the same opportunities are long gone. There is no scholarship money left at other schools and there may be no roster spots available at similar level programs. It might not have been the intent, but the incoming freshman are essentially "trapped" for at least one year. That is not to say that we do not hold out hope that Clemson Swimming and Diving will thrive in the near future and beyond.