College of Charleston confirms the elimination of swimming & diving programs

College of Charleston athletic director Joe Hull released a statement today, officially confirming for the first time that the University would cut its men’s and women’s swimming & diving programs after the 2014-2015 season.

The athletic department informed the team and staff of its plans to cut the program yesterday morning, but then released a statement to the general public later in the day saying that no official decisions had been made.

But today the school confirmed that the programs will be cut following this season and the CofC pool will close down after 40 years of operation.

Hull, who received a two-year extension this week, again cited the cost of maintaining the facility as the major reason for the elimination of the programs. The school needed $1.5 million to repair the pool’s ventilation system, and the 40-year-old facility was reportedly becoming very expensive due to constant necessary repairs.

As we reported yesterday, the school will honor athletic scholarships for their full four years for any athletes who choose to stay at Charleston. Athletes who transfer out will receive full releases and be eligible to compete immediately for a new program beginning next season.

Hull’s full statement is below:

November 7, 2014

Statement from the Athletics Director Joe Hull

It is with great regret that I announce that the College of Charleston will no longer have NCAA Division I men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs after the 2014-15 season. Additionally, the 40-year-old Stern Center pool will close after the spring 2015 semester.

The worst thing I have to do as an athletics director is to tell student-athletes they will no longer be able to compete for their current university.

We will honor all scholarship commitments to our swimming and diving student-athletes. If they choose to transfer to another school, we will grant a release, which will enable them to compete during the 2015-16 season (there is no requirement that student-athletes sit out a year if they transfer).

This decision was made following a comprehensive, year-long study. The pool, which was built in 1974-75 and updated in 2000, is in poor condition and requires maintenance nearly weekly. Just replacing the specialized HVAC system would cost $1.5 million. It was concluded that the financial costs to maintain and repair the facilities were too much to overcome.

The athletics department and College administration will provide access to recreational and competitive swimming. The College is currently working with the City of Charleston to use its facilities, one of which is in downtown Charleston. This downtown pool is currently used by the city’s Southern Marlins Racing Team (SMRT), which is affiliated with USA Swimming, and is home to a U.S. Master’s swimming team.

Unfortunately, the cutting of the NCAA Division I swimming and diving programs is part of the financial realities that are being faced by athletics departments across the country. These financial challenges could increase in the future with the new NCAA governance structure.

Ending our programs was not a decision we took lightly, and we understand the impact to our student-athletes and coaches.

I would like to thank Interim Head Coach Bora Yatagan for the work he has done at the College of Charleston. I would also like to thank the current and former student-athletes who have been a part of the 40-year swimming and diving history at the College of Charleston. They have represented the best values of collegiate athletics and have, season after season, done the College proud.

Sincerely,

Joe Hull

Director of Athletics

College of Charleston

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Gwen Clark
9 years ago

Strictly political and when prime real estate is a factor, money and greed takes precedence over student athlete swimmers and divers. Imagine my surprise, upon reading in The Moultrie News dated November 12, 2014 about the C of C fundraising campaign (Boundless) for $125 million! This fundraising campaign is for “increasing scholarships, endowing faculty positions, growing distinctive academic and campus-life program support, UPGRADING FACILITIES and bolstering annual giving.” Imagine my further surprise when I read, “The college has raised $110 million during the silent phase of the Boundless campaign, which began October 2009 and will conclude by June 2016”. The college has known about the pool ventilation repairs and maintenance for some time. Why haven’t they used some of this… Read more »

tanya craig
9 years ago

I agree with Suzanne Tully. Disgusted with CofC. And I do donate.

Suzanne Tully
9 years ago

I am disappointed and disgusted by the lack of dialogue such a huge decision should engender! This is wrong, wrong and wrong to not consider the contributions of the swim program and the access of all around quality facilities that every decent college should offer – including recreational facilities that benefit so many. The pool needs updating and I am sure they could “find the money” if there was a groundswell…of course, they didn’t give the groundswell a chance to form! It is the first time I am embarrassed by the College of Charleston!

C of C Swim Alumni
9 years ago

His letter is a joke! He doesn’t care about swimming. When the Cougar Club asks for money then let them know by not giving. The decision has been made so since it is about money that will be an easy decision not to give. I am done!

C of C Swim Alumni
9 years ago

Joe Hull is a fundraiser and that is it! He played golf in college but not worth mentioning in his resume. He should have never been hired as an an advocate for C of C sports when he left Maryland raising a lot of money but in his wake, his school dropped their swim program for lack of funds.He has now done the same for College of Charleston. Swimming is one of those sports that brings so much to any program that can’t be measured in dollars per individual.
I owe so much to Bill King and the college for providing me the demanding time and effort in the pool which were life lessons that were carried into the… Read more »

swim coach
Reply to  C of C Swim Alumni
9 years ago

just an fyi regarding facilities… they don’t make money. meet hosting does not make money. why?

simply put, “competition” facilities themselves are too expensive to build and maintain. a facility capable of hosting a state-type meet in SC will need to contain at least a 50m pool and a 25yd pool, seating for 2000, etc. estimate a good $5-10 million depending on cost of land and construction materials.

the issue comes up when, “how does the facility generate income when not meet hosting?” or, “how many meets can a team realistically host to generate revenue?” and, “what is the true net profit from event hosting?”

a facility described above has to program out the wazoo to make ends meet. meet… Read more »

james smith
9 years ago

time to fire joe hull. previous reports state this guy was also the AD at u of md and killed that program. so it seems mr hull just doesn’t like swimming.

but he surely likes his new contract.. 2 more years, $410,000. hmmm, sounds like bullsh-t.

notagain
Reply to  james smith
9 years ago

Hull based on his bio was an administrator at Maryland, but Debbie Yow is the one to blame for Maryland’s demise. She bled the coffers dry to over build the football stadium for a mediocre team. But by the time the department was millions of dollars in the red, she was long gone to NC State. Watch out wolfpack.

Lleyton
9 years ago

I’m really glad Hull gave the program and the swimming community so much time to save the program. He basically gave them one day to come up with 1.5 million dollars! I’m sorry but for the average person it takes a while to get that amount of money raised. But I’m pretty sure that’s chump change for Hull. 1.5 million is not that much money for a university of that size to come up with. They obviously don’t want the program. It is disrespectful to the athletes who have spent their whole life training to get where they are today, and basically hold their everything they have worked for hostage for 1.5 million. But I’m sure Hull tried so hard… Read more »

About Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson

Jared Anderson swam for nearly twenty years. Then, Jared Anderson stopped swimming and started writing about swimming. He's not sick of swimming yet. Swimming might be sick of him, though. Jared was a YMCA and high school swimmer in northern Minnesota, and spent his college years swimming breaststroke and occasionally pretending …

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