Michigan State Says $26.5 Million Must Be Raised By Oct. 1 to Bring Back Swim Program

Michigan State’s announcement on Friday that its new recreation center includes plans for a 50-meter pool — creating a “window for opportunity” to reinstate its swimming and diving program — was accompanied by more sobering news later that day when university spokesperson Dan Olsen confirmed that the Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive advocacy group needs to raise $26.5 million by October 1 in order to upgrade the facility to support a competitive Power Five program.

According to Olsen, MSU’s proposed $26.5 million fundraising figure covers:

• $20 million to support the buildout of the pool with a separate diving well and expansion of the building to accommodate diving, coaching offices, administration, team room, team locker rooms, lounge, additional 250 bleacher seating and other building modifications needed to support the success of a varsity program.
• $6.5 million to support half of the operational funding of the program for 5 years.

The $6.5 million for operating expenses had already been established, but the extra $20 million for pool upgrades is a new development in the nearly three-year saga since the school said it was cutting its men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams back in October of 2020.

So far, Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive has secured about $5.2 million in pledges, nearly fulfilling the $6.5 million required to assist with operating costs. But the group doesn’t seem to be on the same page as MSU about that other $20 million.

“Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive is confident we will meet the previously identified operating cost target of $6.5 million by the Oct. 1 deadline, and we will be an active partner with Michigan State to identify potential donors who can help bridge the infrastructure gap toward construction of a top-tier facility that will serve the Spartan community,” Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive told SwimSwam.

According to Olsen, if Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive doesn’t reach its required fundraising expectation, the new $200 million recreation center will still include a pool, but it would only be for student recreation instead of a varsity program.

Last summer, Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive said it secured $8.5 million from two anonymous donors, but those donations are estate bequests and endowments that are not eligible to fund operating expenses. The group says it is still negotiating with MSU about whether those prospective funds could be used to finance pool upgrades. The school could also sell naming rights to parts of the facility to help make up the remaining $21 million.

Construction on the university’s new recreation center is slated to begin next month, with the final schematics for the project due by October 1. Students will pay a tax of $80 per year to help fund the facility, which should be ready in early 2026.

MSU is soon set to receive a lot more revenue thanks to the Big Ten’s new media rights deal worth more than $1 billion annually. Member schools are projected to eventually receive $100 million a year, nearly double the $54.3 million paid out during the most recent fiscal year (2019-20) not impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Just six months ago, an MSU board trustee said the university did not see a viable path to bringing the program back. Then in January, MSU reached a settlement with 11 former members of the women’s swim team, which stopped short of guaranteeing reinstatement but did provide several Title IX protections for the future. Last August, MSU was found to have violated Title IX by cutting the Spartans’ swim and dive program, and the university’s appeal to the Supreme Court was rejected in December.