A campaign to save William & Mary‘s swimming programs has raised over a million dollars in donations as of Friday morning.
Save Tribe Swimming launched on September 7th, hoping to raise $4.5 million to help support the swimming & diving program, which is set to be cut after this season.
Less than two weeks into the campaign, Save Tribe Swimming lists $1,012,837 in donations on its website as of Friday morning. That comes from 673 pledges.
William & Mary announced early this month that it would be discontinuing seven sports following the 2020-2021 school year. That includes women’s and men’s swimming & diving. William & Mary has won the past six CAA titles in men’s swimming & diving, and the women finished second last year.
The programs currently have a $3 million endowment, which was set up back in 1990-1991 when the school talked about cutting the programs. Alumni estimate that if they can raise $4.5 million, the school will no longer be able to use the program’s cost burden as a rationale for the program cut.
A week ago, rising junior Missy Cundiff produced a rap song and a socially-distanced music video to help raise funds. You can see that below:
William & Mary is one of seven Division I schools to cut swimming & diving programs this offseason – a brutal run of cuts as schools struggle to balance budgets amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Congratulations Tribe Swimmers! Your hard work does pay off, don’t give up!
Excellent – For a program that costs $180k per year, that alone would keep it alive for another 5 (yes, I know the goal is to have a self-sustaining endowment)
Samantha Huge: “Oh great! Even more money for our football program! Thanks alumni!”
These are pledges-she can’t touch the money…thank goodness-for her pet project -basketball and a division 1 women’s rowing team to fulfill Title IX requirements
This is Admin’s way to squirm , bribe & ameliorate themselves out of being burnt down . It is a shame y’all will bring down William & Mary who were quite far sighted . They founded this pllace for Universal Education on top o fc bringing carrots to England !
Yeehaw keep it going