Cal Poly Athletics announced the university will discontinue the men’s and women’s swimming and diving programs effective immediately, according to an email sent this morning by Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong.
Cal Poly cited the “rapidly evolving and changing NCAA Division I landscape” as reasoning for the cuts. Student-athletes in the program will remain on scholarship throughout their time at the institution or have the option to enter the transfer portal and look for opportunities at other schools.
Swim and dive wrapped up their season at the Big West Championships on Feb. 15. The men’s team finished third in the postseason while the women’s finished sixth.
“I want to be clear that we remain committed to the student-athlete model and excelling both in the classroom and in athletic competitions,” Armstrong wrote. “However, that requires us to make difficult decisions, such as today’s, to maintain and sustain a viable athletics program.”
One looming financial burden for the athletic department is the House vs. NCAA settlement, according to the email. The class-action lawsuit, which was initially filed in 2020, seeks damages from the NCAA and its five autonomy conferences for withholding name, image and likeness pay from athletes between 2016-2021. The settlement, which was granted preliminary approval on Oct. 7, 2024, has its final approval hearing on April 7.
The press release from Cal Poly said the financial impact from the settlement, if approved, will result in at least $450,000 loss per year for its programs.
If the settlement is approved, the NCAA and all its affiliated conferences are set to pay $2.75 billion in damages. The NCAA will pay roughly half the amount while the rest are distributed proportionally amongst its conferences, including the Big West and Big Sky. Cal Poly Football is in the Big Sky while the rest of the university’s sports are in the Big West outside of wrestling.