MAY 31 10:01 P.M. – Syracuse plans to cut its men’s and women’s swimming teams following next season, multiple sources confirmed Thursday.

‘It came as a shock to everyone,’ rising junior Catrina Roth said. ‘At first we were kind of upset because we thought our coach knew about it, but in reality he hadn’t.’

The Post-Standard first reported of the athletic department’s decision in Thursday’s editions, quoting anonymous sources. Syracuse athletics has yet to release an official announcement.

The Post-Standard also reported women’s ice hockey will replace the swimming teams, beginning as early as winter 2008.

It is the first time in 10 years Syracuse is eliminating a Division I sport. In spring 1997, Syracuse announced it was cutting men’s wrestling and gymnastics. The wrestling program was not officially removed until after the 2000-01 season.

Roth found out about her team’s disbandment through an e-mail from a teammate early Thursday morning. Roth said every member of the program first heard news of the cuts through the Post-Standard story.

‘I know my assistant coach was crying when she was talking to people,’ Roth said. ‘They had no idea.’

The Syracuse athletics department released a statement from Director of Athletics Daryl Gross neither confirming nor denying the reports.

‘It’s premature to talk about it right now,’ Gross said in the statement. ‘There are many things in the athletic department’s long-term viability that have been researched and discussed at length, and we’ll discuss those things at the appropriate time.’

Syracuse will honor current scholarships and immediately release any swimmer requesting a leave from scholarship, Roth said. But because swimmers are just now hearing of the news it will be harder to transfer and still receive scholarship money after the May 16 signing deadline.

‘The younger kids can transfer and still have like two years,’ Roth said. ‘The fact that we’re going into our junior year and missed the signing deadline, even if we get an immediate release that they offered, no schools are going to have any money left to offer. They’re already done signing their kids.’

The decisions to cut teams 10 years ago were made on the basis of complying with Title IX, which illegalized discrimination on the basis of sex at universities, and has most been associated with collegiate athletics.

However, The Post-Standard report identified financial concerns as one reason for cutting swimming and diving.

‘My freshman year I heard that in the next couple of years they were thinking about taking the men’s program out,’ Roth said. ‘I had absolutely no idea they were cutting our entire program because we never thought they would cut a girls with Title IX and everything.’

The Daily Orange first reported in September 2006 that a self-study by the university showed it needed to add an additional women’s sport to further comply with Title IX. The report stated a new team would begin competition for the 2010-11 season. The specific sport was to be named in January 2008 and would have needed approval from Chancellor Nancy Cantor and the university’s Board of Trustees.

Gross said in September women’s golf and hockey made sense as possible additions at Syracuse, but specifically singled out hockey as a perfect fit for Central New York.

‘Wouldn’t it make sense to have a women’s hockey team here?’ Gross said. ‘We’ve got a lot of talent in this area – they’re very good – we can be champions at it.

‘So you see I’m trying to compete in sports we’re good at and have the resources in.’

Gross did say he would never eliminate a men’s team to comply with Title IX, that he would only add women’s programs. In this case, Syracuse is cutting two teams to add one, which reopens the perpetual swinging door of perhaps sometime adding a men’s hockey team in the future.

The last time Syracuse added a sport was softball, in 2000. If women’s hockey is the choice in 2008, there will be 11 women’s Division I sports and seven men’s teams.

Men’s swimming has been a varsity sport at Syracuse since 1915. Women’s swimming was started in 1976 and two women’s swimmers-Liz Vilbert (1981) and Elyse McDonough (2004) have qualified for the NCAA women’s swimming championships.

Lou Walker has been the head coach of the women’s program since its inception 31 years ago and also the head coach of the men’s team since 1979. The men’s team last won the Big East in 1996. It has qualified for the NCAAs twice in school history.

In July 2006, Rutgers announced it was cutting its men’s swimming and diving program after the just completed 2006-07 season. Following Syracuse’s departure from swimming after next season, the Big East will field 10 teams out of its 16 member schools.

Published on June 4, 2007 at 12:00 pm