Kutztown University, an NCAA Division II school in northeastern Pennsylvania, has announced that it will reinstate men’s varsity swimming for the 2024-2025 season.
The move will bring the total number of varsity sports to 23: 14 women’s teams and 9 men’s teams.
Kutztown previously sponsored a men’s swimming & diving program from 1970 until 2009, when it was cut as part of a university-wide effort during the economic period known as the “Great Recession.” The men’s soccer team was also cut, and the school said that eliminating those programs would save it $150,000 per year (about $208,000 in 2022 money).
The men’s program produced 11 All-American athletes and one NCAA champion: Ed Flory, who won the NCAA Division III titles in 1978 in the 200 fly and 200 free before Kutztzown moved to the Division II level. The men’s team placed as high as 12th at the NCAA Championships: once in 1978 and again in Division II in 1996.
Their highest conference championship was at the PSAC championship meet in 2004, where they finished 3rd. The Golden Bears were 6-3 in their last season of dual meet competition and placed eighth in the eight-team conference title meet.
Seven schools in the PSAC currently sponsor men’s swim programs. There are 77 programs at the NCAA Division II level.
“We have considered several scenarios for sport expansion over the past five years,” said Matt Santos, KU’s vice president for University Relations & Athletics since 2017. “We needed to first make a stronger commitment to Title IX by enhancing support for our current women’s programs and adding a new women’s sport. The addition of men’s swimming is the best fit for our institution as it is sponsored by many of our sister institutions and the necessary infrastructure is already in place in the Athletic Department. We also listened to our women’s swimmers, who felt the addition of a men’s team was important to their experience as student-athletes.”
Tim Flannery, who previously coached the men’s team from 1996 through 2009 and is in his 26th season as the Golden Bears women’s swim coach, will be responsible for rebuilding the men’s swimming program while continuing to coach the women.
“I am so excited for our men’s swimming alumni and our women’s swim team,” Flannery said. “It was devastating to lose our men’s program in 2009. There is no question having a men’s program will help our women’s team. The biggest and best swim programs sponsor both teams. The swimmers from both teams tend to form strong bonds and push each other to be better student-athletes on many levels. I am thankful to our administration for making this decision and understanding the value of intercollegiate athletics in general.”
The men’s swimming roster will have a limit of 12 swimmers to begin, while the women’s roster is expected to grow from 15 to 20.
“We feel this is the right time to reintroduce men’s swimming,” said KU’s athletic director Renee Hellert, who was instrumental in the decision to bring the sport back to KU. “The university’s efforts toward Title IX are optimal through roster management, the addition of women’s acrobatics and tumbling, facility enhancement and the growth of the women’s coaching staff. I am excited for coach Flannery and our swimming alumni about the return of men’s swimming, but even more so, I am happy for our women’s swimmers who will receive an enhanced experience as Golden Bear student-athletes.”
The Kutztown women’s team finished 9th out of 12 at last year’s PSAC Championship meet. Both meets were won by West Chester University, which was recently sanctioned by the NCAA for violations related to a university-owned club team.
2022 PSAC Men’s Swimming & Diving Conference Championships – Final Standings
- West Chester – 844.5
- Bloomsburg – 606
- Gannon – 476.5
- Clairon – 435
- Indiana University of Pennsylvania – 372.5
- Shippensburg – 274.5
- Edinboro – 181
Most recently, at their mid-season Franklin & Marshall invitational, Gracie McKee broke a 25-year program record in the 100 back, finishing in 56.96. She also got the school record in the 200 backstroke at that meet in 2:02.90.
Kutztown currently practices in the Keystone Hall Pool which is shared with about 6,700 undergraduates, another 800 graduate students, and faculty. The facility is a 6-lane, 25-yard competition pool that was most recently refurbished in 2008.
The school doesn’t currently sponsor diving.
Many small-and-mid-sized universities like Kutztown have changed their perspective on collegiate athletics from being a cost to attracting new prospective tuition-paying students. The school saw an increase of 3.9% in enrollment of new degree-seeking students for the fall 2022-semester and retained 79% of its students from the year prior, which was its best result since 2000. Even with hose positive signs, total enrollment was down from 7,675 to 7,469 year-over-year.
Wonderful! Hope Michigan State brings back swimming. If Kutztown can Michigan State can.
For $150k a year and a 12 man roster? Idk..
$150k/year included men’s soccer.
Michigan State has the resources to be a highly successful power 5 swim team. No excuses MSU, do the right thing and bring the program back.
Cool.
Cool. Gary Barta, your turn.
This is good news for Pennsylvania HS swimmers. Tis state has traditionally had some of the best high school swimming in the Northeast