UW’S All Wet On This One

University of Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges confirmed the diminishing state of college athletics July 27 when she announced the elimination of her Division I school’s men’s and women’s competitive swimming programs after the next season.

The University of Washington is the only Division I school in the Pacific Northwest to offer men’s and women’s competitive swimming. It is also the first Division I school since 1991 to cut a women’s program.

Hedges’ action spotlights one disturbing trend and threatens to start another.

First, the nation’s colleges are no longer willing to train talented young athletes unless they participate in revenue-generating sports. Second, eliminating smaller coed sports allows athletic departments to channel more money into fewer programs without violating Title IX.

Both trends drastically limit opportunities for thousands of the nation’s young athletes. The second threatens to set back two decades of progress in women’s athletic opportunities, if Hedges can pull it off.

Whether sports belong in American universities isn’t at issue here. The nation’s colleges long ago accepted the concept that athletic achievement complements academic achievement, hence the NCAA’s emphasis on athletics as an integral part of the educational program.

Somewhere along the road, priorities became skewed. Athletics developed into a public relations and pride vehicle for colleges. National championships and bowl victories replaced student excellence as a goal. Colleges began sacrificing programs that turned out the most successful student/athletes - those with the highest grades and graduation rates - for programs that attracted the largest crowds and most money.

The University of Washington, a public institution, pays football coach Rick Neuheisel $1 million a year. Its swim program costs $700,000 a year, earns half the school’s All-Pacific-10 Conference academic awards and leads the UW athletic department in GPA and community service.

The nation’s colleges offered 129 men’s gymnastics programs in 1971. Next year, they will offer 23 in all three divisions. Special legislation protecting Olympic sports is the only reason the NCAA still sponsors national championships in men’s gymnastics.

Men’s swimming is heading in the same direction. Since 1982, 30 Division I schools have dropped men’s swimming. Six hundred fewer men swam at the top collegiate level this year than in 1982, and the numbers of missed opportunities are growing.

“When any student-athlete is not able to participate or has an opportunity reduced, it is a concern,” says Wayne Burrow, the NCAA’s championship coordinator for Division I men’s and women’s swimming and men’s gymnastics. “Collegiate programs are a good feeder system into the Olympic movement. We want to say to kids out there that they’ll have some opportunity.”

Thanks to Title IX, 19 Division I colleges have added women’s swimming since 1982. Twelve hundred more women swam at the top collegiate level this year than in 1982. Those opportunities will be among the first lost, particularly at schools offering coed swimming, as colleges recognize the University of Washington’s strategy to beat Title IX.

College athletic programs are a beacon for thousands of young athletes. Such programs keep kids in the pool, on the track and in the gym during the riskiest years of their lives. Eliminate those opportunities and thousands of young athletes will lose their direction - not something this nation can afford during an era in which youth violence dominates the news.