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TigerNet Immortal [170317]
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Old swimming question, purely out of curiosity
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Sep 4, 2024, 7:43 AM
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Promise this isn’t a loaded question or a “gotcha”, I’m just genuinely curious for anyone that remembers these events.
When the swim team was disbanded, (roughly 2010-ish as I recall), the reason cited was that we didn’t want to construct a new swim facility to accommodate a 50m pool, which is pretty much the college standard now. A quick look back shows the university citing a $10m construction cost, but outside groups trying to convince CU to retain swimming showed costs as low as $3M.
Most recently, we are spending almost $30M for the construction of the lacrosse, gymnastics, and crew facilities, so our willingness to sink funds into sports facilities has clearly been rekindled.
Why have we never circled back to an aquatics center? In addition to supporting swim and dive teams, it would also be a resource that would benefit the student body at large, as well as likely hosting a lot of events in the region.
To be clear, this isn’t pitting the sports against each other (I’m a lax dad—love the new facility)—I’m good with all of them. I just don’t understand why any thoughts of a new aquatics center seem to be permanently back-burnered in the midst of a massive facility campaign.
Anyone have any insight?
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Dynasty Maker [3109]
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Re: Old swimming question, purely out of curiosity
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Sep 4, 2024, 7:47 AM
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I love the new sports.... especially the success the gymnastics, softball, and lacrosse team is having.
My initial thought was besides the opportunities for for women athletics, it would align us better with other conferences in the sports they offer (SEC, Big 10).
I wish we would bring swimming & diving back.
When I was at Clemson, they cut the wrestling team and we were very good. My old roomie was a Clemson wrestler and he was devastated they cut the program. There was some drama in the cutting of the sport internal to Clemson, but they were a top ten program nationwide.
Bring them all back I say. I love the expansion and it is good for Clemson overall.
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TigerNet Immortal [170317]
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We must have been there at the same time.
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Sep 4, 2024, 7:49 AM
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I remember the wrestling cut too and was friends with a couple of the guys.
It’s a real downside to Title IX when a school opts to subtract men’s sports rather than adding women’s sports.
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All-In [10560]
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Re: We must have been there at the same time.
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Sep 4, 2024, 8:39 AM
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I remember the wrestling cut too and was friends with a couple of the guys.
It’s a real downside to Title IX when a school opts to subtract men’s sports rather than adding women’s sports.
Not unusual when the gov gets involved it makes things worse instead of better. Seems they never consider the unintended (or maybe they were intended) consequences. The law could have easily been written to say that a school must field the same number of men's and women's teams but common sense in Washington is not so common.
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Valley Protector [1498]
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Re: We must have been there at the same time.
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Sep 4, 2024, 9:14 AM
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Sometimes national government needs to step in and push things along, ie Civil Rights and integrated schools for instance.
White men running things does not always bring about equitable playing fields for others or all.
The government is often accused of not having common sense. And who makes up the majority of the people in said "government"?
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Orange Immortal [60388]
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Re: Old swimming question, purely out of curiosity
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Sep 4, 2024, 8:18 AM
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I think Clemson just needed more women's sports, and swimming was a wash (so to speak). The others you cited are women only sports. It's a numbers game.
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Orange Immortal [68562]
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When football scholarships increase from 85 to 120...
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Sep 4, 2024, 8:33 AM
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you're likely to start seeing even more of them. Get ready for some field hockey and beach volleyball.
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Orange Immortal [60388]
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Re: When football scholarships increase from 85 to 120...
Sep 4, 2024, 11:20 AM
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Beach volleyball!!!
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All-TigerNet [5660]
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Chlorine ain't cheap!***
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Sep 4, 2024, 8:21 AM
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Associate AD [1097]
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Nor is going to CA to swim against Stanford****
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Sep 4, 2024, 8:34 AM
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Clemson Icon [26886]
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I was surprised when I read about the swimming cut, as it and
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Sep 4, 2024, 8:36 AM
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wrestling were integral parts of our sports during my time there in the 60's.
I recall thinking I couldn't believe they were cutting out well-established programs. However, I was aware that Clemson had reestablished soccer in the 60's, which Coach Ibrahim related to me. While serving as the Editor of "The Tiger" from 1967-1968, he visited our offices to solicit the paper's support for the program. I was surprised when he told me Clemson had a soccer club some years earlier, which had been disbanded. As its popularity was regaining traction in the 60's, Clemson's new club was formed, and Coach I was trying to gain student support. The Sports Editor and I agreed to lend the paper's backing, which Coach later told me was key to the club's rebirth.
Knowing that, I hoped sooner rather than later, Clemson would reintroduce both swimming and wrestling and be willing to spend the moolah to support both sports.
Good post, as I haven't seen much about it in a while.
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Campus Hero [13843]
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Obed, Obed, Obed
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Sep 4, 2024, 9:14 AM
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Didn't I teach you anything through the decades? We don't need any indoor cement swimming pond. Clemson is for outdoor swimming only. We already have the largest outdoor collegiate aquatic center in the nation, Lake Hartwell.
If you had fully supported my campaign to become AD after Billy Bob Robinson, today you would be watching swimming events from a 5k seat grandstand on the shore of Hartwell. There would be a diving platform constructed in the lake, and lanes for swimming.
Swimming competitions are better outdoors. There are weather and water current considerations, not to mention the possibilities of mishaps with passing boaters or a bear crossing the lake.
And wrestling? Littlejohn would be rocking every Wednesday night with WWF, complete with cage matches.
Man, the Clemson world would swing, if I were the AD King.
P.S.
Hope all is well. Hasn't been my year, but I'm still here.
On second thought, maybe this IS my year. The one where I overcome my biggest health setback, and return to doing the things I love.
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TigerNet Immortal [170317]
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Good to hear from you buddy, been too long.
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Sep 4, 2024, 9:34 AM
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Hang in there, sounds like things are on the upswing at least
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Clemson Icon [24866]
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Re: Old swimming question, purely out of curiosity
Sep 4, 2024, 9:22 AM
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I doubt they'd let the new pool be available to general population (like Fike back in day).
My kids swim at the Gamecocks Aquatics pool 4x/week, but it isn't available to students. Primarily hosts all activities related to college swim, feeder programs, ton of local teams, practices and tournaments.
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