On Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, around 5 p.m., Michigan State’s Athletic department cut its swim and dive program. The program was just over a month into its 99th season. With training already underway, athletes and staff members were blindsided by the decision.
By 5:05 p.m., the Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive was born.
Mike Balow, whose daughter, Sophia Balow, was on the team at the time of the cut, was frustrated by the university’s handling of the situation and decided to pursue change himself. Now, just over a year into his term as a member of the Board of Trustees, Balow is heavily involved with the Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive movement.
“It almost became a battle of wills where people were just like, ‘We don’t care if it was wrong. We’re just not going to reconsider it,’ which is why I ran for trustee,” Balow said. “I felt people were making decisions not based on the best interests of our students, but based on something else.
“I can’t live with that. I have to get in the room and fix it.”
Balow added, “Any previous reason for the cut has been solved. It really was a tiny portion of the athletic budget, and cutting it solved no meaningful problem, but it caused a lot of meaningful problems — alumni estrangement, loss of pride and loss of opportunity.”
The main reason given for the defunding was the university not having enough room in its athletic budget to support the program. Blame was placed on the lack of revenue being brought in by the swim program.
“Swimming is one of the most popular sports in America for young people, and the numbers prove it.” Balow said.“NBC doesn’t put it on primetime for five nights in a row during the Olympics if it doesn’t sell.”
Questions were raised about the truthfulness of Michigan State claiming it couldn’t afford to support the program. The swim and dive budget was approximately $2.5 million, a small fraction of the university’s overall athletic spending. When contacted for comments on their budget and any plans for the program, Michigan State Athletics did not respond to repeated email requests. MSU Communications also declined to comment, despite repeated email requests made by WKAR Sports, deferring to Athletics.
Travis Nitkiewicz was a second-year member of the men’s swim team at the time of the cut.
“A program whose annual budget could be trimmed down to less than $2 million seems like it wouldn’t be that high of a cost, especially if they’re building a pool anyway in the new rec center,” Nitkiewicz said.“If the issue was funding, why not a 10% haircut from 20 programs instead of just one program disappearing?”
Coaches and athletes were confused, upset, and disappointed in their institution. Team members were faced with a decision: drop swimming/diving entirely and continue their education, or transfer elsewhere to continue their athletic careers.
“It kind of shatters your identity, just throws off your whole routine. People’s grades struggled that next year. Even though they had more time, they didn’t know how to manage their new life,” Nitkiewicz said.
Former Head Coach Matt Gianiodis was committed to helping his athletes improve their times in the pool, and succeed academically.
“When you’re two years in already, to transfer is a real chore. We had some really talented athletes who gave up the sport to stay in school at Michigan State. Despite the fact that the school let them down, they stayed,” Gianiodis said.
Alumni and supporters of the program immediately began calling for reinstatement, with many willing to donate.
“It wasn’t the decision to drop the team that disappointed me; it was the aftermath,” Gianiodis said. “There was a big group of alums who told administration they would like to help save it, and they were basically stiff-armed, pushed away and ignored.”
Five years later, the swim community is still disputing the university’s reasoning, especially with a new state-of-the-art Olympic-sized pool that will be included in the new student recreation center. The facility is set to open in May and will replace IM West, which is where the team originally practiced and competed.
“How could you cut this team because there is ‘no pathway to facility’ and then five years later there is a facility being built — a world-class facility at that?” Gianiodis said.
The decision appears even more controversial as the athletics department recently launched ‘For Sparta’, its “bold new, one billion-dollar vision to elevate facilities”. It is another slap in the face to a community that not only fell in love with competing for Michigan State, but also the family they found within the program.
Despite being disrespected by the university, alumni remain motivated by their bond with one another and the program. Jim Thurston, along with several other alumni, leads the Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive.
“We have a mental fortitude, and that’s why we are still at it — the grind of being a swimmer,” Thurston said. “They totally thought we would go away. No, we’re still here.
“People don’t put their time and effort into things they don’t care deeply about,” Balow said. “It's like holy cow, MSU. You’re missing the boat if you don’t re-engage with these people.”
With support from former athletes and fans, the group continues its push to reinstate the program and provide future Spartan swimmers with the opportunity they believe they deserve.
“People just don’t understand the depth of the program, what it means and the connections that we all have,” Thurston said. “I’m fighting for people that I don’t even know yet, people I’ve never met. We are not saying fund us and pay us NIL like every other sport. No, just let us compete. That’s all we have ever asked for.”
The group has demonstrated not only a willingness to donate, but a desire to preserve tradition — especially with the program’s 100th season approaching.
“The pride of being associated with a program that has been around for 100 years of competition.” Thurston said. “It’s amazing to be a part of that lineage, that history.”
Traditions such as the annual homecoming alumni meet can no longer be continued. Breaking the connection between Spartan swimmers of the past and athletes of the present.
“The network will just continue to deteriorate,” Nitkiewicz said. “We don't have the reunions and alumni meets because there is no program to go back to.”
Collegiate athletics have drastically changed. Unfortunately, we are no longer focused on the betterment of our student-athletes, but on how much money they can put into the pockets of large institutions. How could the alumni not be furious when the excuse of not having enough funding is continuously thrown in their face?
“They preach family and all the rest of that stuff, and it’s just difficult for me to listen to it now.” Gianiodis said.
“There has never been more money flowing into college athletics than there is now, by a huge amount,” Balow said. “[The swim and dive program] made it through two world wars and the Great Depression, but it couldn’t make it through 2020 in modern athletics. It’s crazy when you think about it.”