Swimmers are the most under-appreciated athletes at UCSB

Currently, the trend at Division I universities is to spend huge amounts on intercollegiate athletics whether it be generated from the government, donations, or by the tuition fees payed by the students. The funds are used by the universities for a number of necessary costs that help to not only maintain their facilities and provide for their student-athletes, but maintain their reputation.

But in many D1 schools, beyond the big teams, squads can get forgotten in terms of both funding and attention.  The UCSB swim team is one of those programs that suffer due to the lack of funding.

Gregg Wilson, coaching his 40th year at UCSB, acknowledges the lack of funding and resulting deficit in the program said: “We are our own worst enemy. We put out more than what we get back, we win and are productive with very little.”

We desperately need a new pool

Campus pool has been home to the UCSB swim team for the past six decades and is a reflection on the lack of funding from the university. Unlike other Division I schools who have the budget to create a revenue generating arena, the pool on campus does not have the seating for 2,000 plus people or the equipment needed to run competitions.

This is a problem because swimming is not seen as a top revenue generating sport, so when a facility does not have seating to accommodate spectators then there is no potential of expanding the income for the sport. Also, with the lack of space for spectators and up-to-date equipment, big meets that draw national attention will not be held there, not allowing to gain that needed revenue for the bettering of the program.

(UCSB Campus Pool) Photo by Hope Curran

There’s no money for more coaches

The current coaching staff situation for the UCSB swim team is limited to two co-head coaches and one assistant, which compared to the average Division I staff is small in number. The lack of coaching staff for both men’s and women’s programs creates a lack of precision and growth for the individual swimmers and their everyday needs: from critiques to encouragement, UCSB swimmers are not getting the full attention they deserve.

Photo by Hope Curran

How can we compete properly without a diving coach?

There’s also a  lack of budget for a diving coach. Without a diving program, the UCSB swimmers are set back at duel meets and the end of the year competition. The MPSF Conference Championships combine the scores of swimming and diving, leaving UCSB in a huge point deficit behind schools like UC-Davis, BYU, and Hawaii just for not having a diving team. The lack of a diving program also had an effect on the men’s team for not being able to compete in the PAC-12 Championships which they have been apart of in previous years.

There needs to be a change in the lack of funding for UCSB swimming to allow the team to practice and compete at its full potential and not be held back. There is a huge lack of appreciation for the sport of swimming and it is affecting the student-athletes that are apart of the UCSB program, they are not getting back what they put in simply because they are not in the budget.