In late June, Notre Dame announced it was looking at issues within its men’s swimming and diving program. Fresh off [autotag]Chris Guiliano[/autotag] winning a gold medal and a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the investigation has been completed.
It was discovered that there was a rampant gambling culture within the program that did not abide by NCAA rules. Concluding that the culture did not reflect Notre Dame’s values and to prevent this from happening again, athletic director [autotag]Pete Bevacqua[/autotag] has announced that the men’s swimming program will be suspended for at least one academic year.
The coaches was exonerated after the investigation revealed that the team members concealed their activities from them. The decision also will not affect the women’s swimming team or either diving team.
The timing of this announcement gives team members wishing to transfer before the start of the school year the ability to do so. However, those who took part in the gambling would be subject to any eligibility penalties handed down to them regardless of whether they transfer.
This is a crushing blow for a program that just had a terrific season, placing in the top 10 at the national championships, not to mention Guiliano’s Olympic success. However, the law had to be laid down,. Hopefully, a program with much higher integrity will emerge and ultimately be successful in the distant future.
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