Michigan State swim & dive alumni Tom Munley and Mindy Arbaugh spoke in front of the Michigan Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, presenting the case to save the Spartan swimming & diving programs.
Both the men’s and women’s teams were cut by the school, effective at the end of the 2020-21 season, in October. In January, the women’s team filed a lawsuit against the university for over a Title IX violation, which has been the cause of multiple school reinstating their swim & dive programs in recent months.
Munley and Arbaugh compared what the school’s reasoning was for the cuts versus the verifiable facts they gathered, attempting to display to the Committee that MSU’s decision wasn’t financially sound.
Several of these details are also available on the Battle For Spartan Swim and Dive website, including that the MSU Athletic Department has had a relatively large surplus in recent years, while the budget for the swim & dive teams has gone down.
Munley and Arbaugh said the alumni have come together to raise over $700k in pledges to support the program, but the school still refuses to meet with them. They added that the broader economic impact of cutting the programs on the state is $4.2M annually.
Their ask of the Committee went as follows:
“We ask that this committee call on Michigan State University to account for why it is making such a poor financial decision against its own interest, and that of so many citizens in the state of Michigan.”
Arbaugh, who is from the class of 1996, was asked what the reasoning was for some of the other schools who have reversed their decision in cutting swim & dive teams.
She said that, while every situation was different, there were several constants, including a “loud and quick alumni reaction,” which MSU certainly has had.
“In all cases enough pressure was put, and enough solutions were brought forth, that they felt that they could do that,” said Arbaugh. “And that gives us hope. we don’t believe this is a done deal.
“We’re asking them to right this latest wrong.”
You can watch the alumni’s testimony below, beginning just after the 30-minute mark of the video.
They should be flowing in cash now that they sold the naming rights to the basketball team to Rocket Mortgage
Good! Keep fighting Sparty Swimmers & Divers! “We’re All For You!”