SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (AP) — Cal Poly has announced the immediate elimination of its men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs in a move attributed to the financial hardships expected because of looming revenue sharing with Division I athletes.
A federal judge is expected to approve the so-called House settlement next month, paving the way for schools to make direct payments to athletes of up to a total of $20.5 million per school annually. Many schools have been allocating more resources to their revenue sports in anticipation of approval, causing athletes and coaches in non-revenue sports to worry about the possible elimination of their programs.
Cal Poly on Friday notified the 58 men and women in the swimming programs that their programs were cut. The school said athletes will have their scholarships honored as long as they are at Cal Poly or they can enter the transfer portal. Coaches will not have their contracts renewed when they expire in April. The school, a member of the Big West Conference, will sponsor 20 sports going forward.
“Unfortunately, Cal Poly is not immune to the rapidly evolving and changing NCAA Division I landscape, which presents many challenges and uncertainties for collegiate athletics programs,” Cal Poly president Jeffrey D. Armstrong wrote in a letter outlining campus-wide cuts.
“The House vs. NCAA settlement, which addresses past and future compensation for student athletes related to name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, will have a significant financial impact — resulting in a loss of at least $450,000 per year for our programs. This comes amid additional national class-action lawsuits pending against the NCAA, further compounding financial and operational challenges for collegiate athletics.”
Cal Poly said it does not plan to eliminate any other sports at this time.
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