On SwimSwam Podcast, we’re giving you an in-depth listen at all things swimming. Host Coleman Hodges welcomes guests and guest co-hosts alike to get perspective on our ever-changing swimming universe and break down the past, present, and future of aquatic sports.
We sat down with Bob Bowman, who recently announced that he would be redshirting Arizona State’s entire Swimming program for the 2020-21 season. Bowman was open and honest about his reasonings and was happy to answer a lot of the major questions that commenters had. What do you think about this decision? Let us know in the comments😉 Maybe Bowman will come back on.
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Music: Otis McDonald
www.otismacmusic.com
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The average professor at ASU is on an annual contract for less than $50,000. Bob Bowman is a swimming coach getting paid $250,000 on a long term contract at ASU.
Faculty who don’t return to teach risk contracting COVID or losing their jobs, but Bowman will make his salary without coaching, plus what he’ll net from professional coaching fees using ASU’s facilities.
As a former faculty member at ASU, I find this nearly as disgusting as Bowman building a career on USA swimming hiding his history of sexual harassment.
Seems that generally the frequent commentors on SwamSwim are anti-Bowman. However, with both the fly clinic podcast and this podcast, I seem to like what Coach Bowman says. This redshirt decision was bold. But Bob made a decision for his program which I respect. I truly think he will be right in the long run.
I worry that many other swimming programs will cut due to Coved19 and the general landscape of college sports. . Even with a vaccine tomorrow, the US will flounder and bicker for at least another year. Without a vaccine, it will be longer so honestly the NCAA championships does look unlikely.
The real problem is the anti-common sense that the NCAA uses. The… Read more »
Wait, high level coaches/swimmers read swimswam comments section?
Mel, what a great conversation. for the safety of our swimmers, I believe the NCAA season should cancel the season. really,, Who is watching Pro baseball these days? pathetic to hear about players getting sick and empty stadiums.
Thanks for was the interview Bob and Mel. Answered a lot of questions and really appreciate the insiders view.
FLOATER? You got a top-10 handle…..
Great interview guys! I really enjoyed hearing Bowman’s reasoning surrounding this decision. I believe that Arizona State’s athletic department and Bowman made the best decision in terms of athlete safety, community safety, and the uncertainty of the NCAA swim season. However, as a fan of swimming and NCAA swimming, it pains me to see the timing of this announcement. Currently the power 5 conferences haven’t really made decisions regarding whether fall sports will be happening. Swimming is a winter sport. Don’t get me wrong, I think this was a good decision and more programs should follow sui. Announcing this decision before the fate of NCAA fall sports have been determined is irresponsible for our sport. This announcement and any others… Read more »
Much respect for Bob sitting down and answering questions about his decision. I think he is just realistic about next season not happening (or delaying) and announcing on time for his swimmers to know what is in play.
I agree. Not ready to let him off the hook for the text message stuff, but independent of that, a lot of coaches wouldn’t have the gumption to be that open.
“things we have to work out”……….you mean the math will not work out and cuts to your roster will be coming once you emerge from hiding.
Exactly. This plan will not work long term, but will cost the athletic department potentially millions in masters degrees that would have otherwise not have been necessary without the redshirts.
@Sanholo, how?
Essentially Bob has given everyone a 5th year whether they need it or not. So assuming students graduate in 4 and still have one year left of eligibility, students will need to take grad classes to stay eligible to compete. The Athletic Dept is having to pay for this where as normally they would not should a regular student graduate in 4 years. Not sure if that made sense?
Athletic department cannot pay for graduate classes unless student has full scholarship. Most will have to pay all or partial tuition money.
Nope. That is not accurate. Athletic department pays for 5th year at scholarship amount that was agreed upon during the first 4 previous years.
Right, but how many will have “scholarship amount agreed” that will pay for full tuition or much of tuition?
At the D1 level, not many. At the D2 and NAIA levels, more.
Financial- He has the dollar value of 9.9 scholarships to give each year. That is divided out among the roster. If everyone redshirts and returns, he essentially has 5 years of kids on the roster vs 4 like normal. His pool of money only grew b/c he has no divers returning and none coming in, so that helps bridge the gap some. I’m sure there’s other ways to move the money around to make it work, and how he recruits the incoming 21-22 class, etc. I won’t speculate on that, but he sounds confident that he can make it happen.