Supporters and members of the Terrapins men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams are a bit salty this week, after reports of the squads’ possible elimination surfaced Tuesday. In response, the group has been quick to mobilize support from the university community and beyond. Within hours, supporters formed a Facebook group, “SAVE UMD SWIMMING & DIVING,” which amassed more than 10,000 members as of Thursday night. They also put together a website, saveumdswimming.org, which implores visitors to “Tell Loh We Won’t Go,” and provides “The Facts” surrounding the teams’ potential elimination.
The situation is troubling, but not because teams might be cut in response to a severe budget deficit in the athletics department — anyone paying attention to university affairs has known that for months. Rather, it’s troubling because so many of the teams’ supporters are exhibiting these levels of naivety.
Vitriol seems the weapon of choice for many, whether on the Facebook page, Twitter or online comments on news articles. University President Wallace Loh has been a frequent target, as have current and former Athletic Directors Kevin Anderson and Debbie Yow. Some blame new football coach Randy Edsall, while others have complained about the university’s abandoned “Unstoppable Starts Here” slogan, which cost the university $250,000 in 2009.
Multiple posts on the Facebook page have targeted the football team’s new uniforms as an unnecessary expense, with one person going so far as to write, “Maryland can spend millions of dollars buying multiple sets of new uniforms for their football team who’s not even good but cant support their All American relay teams, yes because that makes sense [sic].” The football team didn’t pay “millions of dollars” for a few new sets of uniforms — they probably didn’t even pay a cent for them because Under Armour outfits all 27 varsity teams in exchange for having their logo plastered on students’ uniforms every day.
To be fair, some have made more level-headed — if ill-informed — arguments, pointing to the $2 million expense of buying out former football coach Ralph Friedgen’s contract, or former men’s basketball coach Gary Williams’ $400,000 “advisory” position. The swimming and diving teams’ high grade point averages, graduation rates and athletic successes have also been widely cited as reasons to keep the programs around.
With all that said, it’s time to set the record straight. This is about money, pure and simple: The athletics department is expected to lose about $4.7 million this fiscal year, and its annual budget deficit is projected to reach $17.6 million by 2017. This trend is unsustainable and administrators have realized it. In July, Loh appointed a commission to tackle the department’s budget. The report from the President’s Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics is due on Loh’s desk next week and, after receiving input from Anderson and the university’s Athletic Council, Loh will make a final decision by the end of the year on what steps to take to better the fiscal situation.
It is almost certain that sports will be eliminated, and some reports claim as many as 10 varsity teams are on the chopping block. Right now, the only way an athletic team can guarantee its future is to guarantee its financial feasibility. Football and men’s basketball generate revenue, so don’t expect any cuts to those teams. As for the swimming and diving teams — and every other non-revenue sport — if you wanted to fight for your survival, you should have begun mobilizing support over the summer. Ten thousand Facebook group members is great for morale, but in practice, the page is little more than an online sounding board for distressed swimmers. The website required some effort — and a quick turnaround — but the “Facts” section is littered with inaccuracies and non sequiturs.
For example, the page claims Loh’s commission “was billed as being an open discovery process, but was nothing but a close-door, close-minded gathering … Not a single person from the community or alumni were [sic] consulted for ideas or solutions.” Almost nothing about that statement is true. In July, Loh outlined the commission’s methods and timeline in a message to the university. In September, the commission held an open forum on the campus to solicit input and ideas. About 50 people showed up for the event, which was publicized via email, and only two actually signed up to voice their opinions — the rest showed up to watch.
Where were the Facebook groups and websites two months ago? Anyone with an Internet connection and second-grade math skills can look up the university’s FY 2011 budget on the Student Government Association website to see which sports may be at risk. Now, barring an unforeseen influx of last-minute donations (cough, Kevin Plank, cough), about one-third of the athletics department may be facing elimination.
Instead of sweating out the deliberation and blaming Anderson and Yow, supporters of non-revenue sports should be doing all they can to raise money for the cause — right now. It’s sink or swim, and as the swimming and diving teams have apparently realized, just treading water won’t be enough.
