Wright State again planning to cut swimming and diving teams after this season

Wright State University has announced it will end its men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs after the current season even after the teams just narrowly survived recent budget cuts.

Scheduled to be a part of the university’s $30.8 million in budget cuts, the swimming and diving program met the June 30 deadline to raise $85,000 to keep the men’s and women’s teams afloat.

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But, the university announced today that it will “not allocate further funding or accept additional external funding to operate the men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams after this season.”

The decision to end the programs after this season was made by the athletics department and the office of Wright State President Cheryl Schrader, according to WSU.

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“In the face of adverse financial conditions, many people who love these student-athletes and programs stepped up this summer to make sure they could compete at Wright State for one more year in 2017-18,” said athletic director Bob Grant in a prepared statement. “But it is clear we are not able to fund operations of these programs after this season. And counting on external funding alone to pay for operations is not sustainable nor is it fair to the student-athletes and their families because of the uncertainty it creates year-to-year.”

The first meet of the last season is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 28, when the Raiders host Milwaukee.

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