Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo cut the university's swim and dive teams late last week due to a financial shortfall.
The decision came after state budget cuts to higher education and a $450,000 per year loss from an NCAA settlement over compensating student athletes for using their name, image and likeness.
When Cal Poly co-head swim coach Kim Foster Carlson was hired to help lead the men’s and women’s team, she had hoped for a bright future with them. She had goals to raise more money, along with improving the team’s winning streak.
But, she received a text message Thursday evening, along with other members of the team, to meet in the athletic department.
“We have been hearing rumblings of this, but we had such a great year and raised quite a bit of money and we're able to, you know, keep the program afloat and everybody was swimming really fast and we figured we had sort of dodged a bullet,” Foster Carlson said.
She said the athletic director met with athletes and staff members separately and informed everyone that the teams would have to be cut.
“After the meeting, the student athletes all met at the pool and there were lots of tears hugs," said Foster Carlson. "You know, it's difficult when you swim, you're a family because it's such a difficult sport.”
Foster Carlson is a former Cal Poly athlete who swam for the team back in the 80s. She said she's sad to lose this opportunity to lead the university’s team.
According to a Cal Poly news release, the teams will be discontinued effective immediately and athletes will not be able to finish their season.
Aleena Mikulin is on the university's Swim Club team. Mikulin said she empathizes with the athletes on the team who may lose the opportunity to one day compete in the Olympics.
“It's like an actual sport [where] people are like trying to either get into Olympic trials and it's getting cut. Their whole career pretty much is over unless they transfer, which I’m sure a lot of them will,” Mikulin said.
Athletes affected by the cuts are able to transfer to other Cal States if they want to continue to swim. Others who don’t will keep their scholarships to continue attending Cal Poly.
