The Colgate University men’s swimming & diving team has been suspended from all competition for the fall semester and its winter training trip for what the school is calling “conduct violations.” Specifically, the school says the team violated university policies related to “hazing and high-risk alcohol consumption.” All members of the men’s swimming & diving team will also undergo an education program on the topic of hazing and high-risk alcohol consumption.
“We regret the need to make this decision but also want to communicate clearly and unequivocally that hazing and high-risk drinking have no place in Colgate’s Division I athletics program or at Colgate University,” said Colgate Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Nicki Moore “In order to create a healthy and safe community of competitive excellence, we must ensure that our teams foster cultures that are free of such behaviors, which also run counter to the university’s values.”
The investigation, carried out by the Department of Athletics and the Dean of the College Office, concluded that the team engaged in hazing activity that included “high-risk alcohol consumption.”
The team competed in its last meet, the Justin Jennings Memorila Invitational, last weekend. The meets cancelled for the men’s team includes dual meets against Loyola, Saint Bonaventure, Binghamton, and Niagara, followed by scheduled trips to the Terrier Invitational at Boston University and USA Swimming’s Winter Nationals.
The team was then scheduled to take a 12-day training trip to Florida running from the end of December and into the new year.
Now, instead, the men’s team will resume competition on January 11th at the Buffalo Diving Invite, with swimmers’ next races scheduled for a dual with Boston University on January 12th.
No impacts on the women’s team’s schedule were announced.
This is the latest in a growing list of hazing incidents striking NCAA swimming teams, and specifically ones resulting in major team-wide suspensions:
- Western Kentucky suspended its swimming & diving program for 5 years, before eventually cutting it, after an investigation revealed underage drinking, hazing, and sexual harassment.
- The Brown University men’s swimming & diving teams were withdrawn from the Ivy League Championships last season after an incident of hazing from October 2017 came to light.
- The Dartmouth women’s team was given a 3 meet suspension at the beginning of last season as a result of an incident of hazing on their 2016 winter training trip.
- All non-freshman, non-first-year-transfer Members of the UCSB men’s swim team were suspended from 2 meets in the 2016-2017 season for hazing.
- Division II power Drury suspended 6 swimmers for 3 meets each, among other sanctions, after they found out about hazing within the team.
- A former member of the Virginia men’s swim team sued 5 of his former teammates over accusations that they hazed him. The case was eventually settled.
- The University of Scranton suspended its teams in 2016 for violations of the university’s hazing, sexual harassment and sexual misconduct, and alcohol policies.”
- East Carolina suspended all team activities last season to investigate a case of alleged hazing.
- 11 Air Force Academy men’s swimmers were removed from the team over hazing, including 9 being sent home from last year’s WAC Conference Championship meet. 2 of them are facing a possible court martial.
The Colgate men finished 7th out of 10 teams at last year’s Patriot League Championships.
I find it quite interesting that Colgate’s new AD chose to impose a pretty harsh penalty on the entire team including the Freshmen who were hazed. How was that decided? Seems absurd. Will a future victim of hazing ever choose to speak up now knowing the precedent set. Easy for Colgate to arrive at this decision though because they are well aware that hazing exists well beyond the “non-revenue generating” and non -scholarship men’s swim and dive team and they can basically now silence anyone who would dare to speak up about hazing and excessive alcohol on other teams or organizations. Make sure you now sweep it all under the rug especially with the revenue generating sports so the school… Read more »
When a decision like this is made, which punishes the entire team, Colgate University is therefore punishing victims of hazing. Colgate is only deterring and dissuading victims from speaking out against hazing and other forms of violence by levying this punishment. Nothing is more dangerous than punishing victims and sending an obvious message that if someone is hazed, he/she should NOT speak out because he/she will be punished as a result of the actions of the perpetrators. Not only is this decision irrational and illogical, it is downright disgraceful and sets a very very disturbing and dangerous precedent. This is a scary time to be alive.
Well, what’s done is done. You can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.
Seriously, at what point will these kids get it? And this continues to happen at very high ranking academic institutions so its not for lack of intelligence on the athlete’s behalf. Is it really that hard to know that hazing = suspension/termination of a program? This is nothing new, and this could spell disaster for a sport like swimming that is constantly being reviewed and on the chopping block at many schools. Schools won’t hesitate to drop non-revenue sports that perpetually cause headaches….so lets knock this garbage off. Show up, swim, and enjoy being a student-athlete.
Whomsts man is Steven Nolan?
This university has bigger issues at hand. While hazing is a serious problem, there is a rich tradition of hazing and a dangerous underground social life at this place. Be cautious and wary because Colgate turns a blind eye to these issues.
This is absolutely and utterly disgusting. Having the same punishment for those who were hazed as the the kids who hazed them is concerning. How are victims and perpetrators given the same degree of punishment? Does Colgate really want to be known as an institution which punishes its victims as severely as its perpetrators? This is simply illogical and irrational.
Drinking and hazing are here to stay. If one gets caught in today’s world there are severe and sometimes untenable consequences. I would think community service more fitting.