The Save Maryland Swimming and Diving organizers have a difficult road ahead. While the university has backed off their insane deadline to raise $11+ million, there's still a substantial dollar amount needed by April Fools' Day.The modification of the fundraising timeline buys them just the tiniest amount of breathing room. Read more here.
Under the compromise, unveiled Friday following a meeting between Athletic Director Kevin Anderson and representatives of Save Maryland Swimming and Diving, the June 30 deadline for raising the $11.57 million (which reflects eight years of operating costs) has been replaced by a series of benchmarks that show substantive progress toward the goal. But the $330,000 annual fee that the teams must pay to use the university’s state-of-the-art pool will not be waived; that represents roughly 25 percent of the team’s annual budget.
The swimming and diving teams now must raise $1.4 million by April 1 to get a favorable indication they’ll be continued. The date is significant because that’s when student-athletes with NCAA eligibility remaining must decide whether to transfer elsewhere.
The teams will be guaranteed to continue for one more season if they raise $2.8 million by June 30.
...gee...thanks...I think...
Pay your own University $330,000 to use your own pool that was designed and built for NCAA competition?
ReplyDeleteWhy don't they charge the Football Team to use the football field? Maybe the student-body could also take over the University Football Field for "intramurals", frisbee football, "club" lacrosse, and grand aerobics classes like the old newsreels of the Germans before World War II?
What a shame...
Totally agree. Seems like some sort of class-action discrimination suit could be engineered unless ALL sports teams had to raise the operating costs of EVERY facility. What are the operating costs of football, anyway? Hint: More than the cost of maintaining the fields. Add in the costs of maintaining the weight rooms, training rooms, etc., etc.
ReplyDeleteI like the reference to those grandiose and STAGED aerobics of the Hitler youth groups. Why? Because these barbaric moves to eliminate swimming and other sports are representative of FASCISTS.
Yep, we just call 'em like we see 'em.
have to wonder if the original agreement to build the natatorium included a mandate that the athletic department pay pool rental for the facility they do not control.
ReplyDeleteif so, won't they still be obligated to pay the fee - even if there are no college swim programs using the facility?