North Dakota Announces it Won’t Be Cutting Swimming Program

The University of North Dakota has announced that it will not be cutting any of its intercollegiate athletic programs, including the men’s and women’s swimming  & diving teams, and will instead continue to carry the 20 sports currently sponsored.

The announcement on Tuesday was a turn from last week, where it seemed all-but-certain that the program would  be losing at least one sport, if not more, with the swimming & diving teams currently in their cross-hairs.

On Monday, the school’s Intercollegiate Athletic Committee (IAC) passed a recommendation to university president Mark Kennedy that they not cut any of the school’s athletics programs.

“I affirm their recommendation for continuing with our current level of support for actively sponsored programs,” Kennedy said in an email sent out to the entire campus.

“I have made it clear this is a once-in-a-Kennedy-tenure opportunity to review sports sponsorship,” Kennedy said. “It’s a closed conversation as far as I’m concerned.”

Swimming head coach Chris Maiello presented to the IAC and Kennedy on Tuesday afternoon in front of a room full of supporters on why swimming should not be cut.

In spite of Kennedy’s assurances, one program, the men’s golf team, continues to be hung on a rope. The program exists under an agreement already in place that requires the team to meet certain fundraising targets, and Kennedy affirmed that these targets are still in place for that program to continue.

The program was an NCAA Division II power for 20 years, including a pair of women’s national titles, before making the transition to Division I in 2008.

The University of North Dakota was the only NCAA swimming & diving program in the state at any level (Division I, II, or III) until this season, where the University of Mary in North Dakota added a women’s Division II program.

AB