- Who: Indian River State College trustees and President Timothy Moore
- What: Vote on eliminating swimming and diving postponed until Nov. 17
- Where: Meeting in Okeechobee; program based in Fort Pierce
The Indian River State College Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to table a proposal to eliminate the college’s nationally dominant swimming and diving teams. Trustees instead directed administrators to produce a full report, including community input, before the board takes the issue up again on Nov. 17.
The vote came at the Dixon Hendry Campus in Okeechobee, where current and former swimmers, parents and supporters filled the Williamson Conference Center Auditorium and about two dozen people spoke during public comment.
The Money Behind the Proposal
Moore told trustees the recommendation is a budget decision. He put the annual cost of swimming and diving at roughly $1.4 million to $2 million and said donations do not cover it. Keeping the program as it exists today, he said, would take an endowment of $15 million to $20 million to generate enough yearly revenue.
The plan is part of a broader athletic restructuring. It would move baseball, softball and men’s basketball to NJCAA Division II, which Moore said could save about $500,000. Agenda materials also call for administrators to study whether women’s basketball, dropped in 2024, could return for the 2028-29 season if resources allow. If the elimination proposal had passed, it would have taken effect in the 2027-28 academic year.
Moore said that if swimming and diving stays, the college may have to cut budgets for sports across the board by 50 percent, a step he said would likely hurt championship results.
Board Chair Milo Thornton raised the question of local participation. The roster has 43 swimmers and divers, and only one comes from the college’s four-county district of St. Lucie, Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee counties, according to reporting on the meeting.
A Dynasty in Fort Pierce
The program trains at the Anne Wilder Aquatic Complex in Fort Pierce. It began in 1974 with six swimmers and won its first national title in 1975. This past March, the men’s team won its 52nd consecutive national championship and the women’s team took its 48th title.
Opposition has been loud. Former swimmer Ella Smith started a Change.org petition to save the teams, and it has passed 12,500 signatures. Swimmers have said they learned of the proposal on social media. Fourteen team members are international students, and some have said they are worried about where they would go if the program ends.
What Happens Next
Administrators are expected to present their report at the trustees’ Nov. 17 meeting, when the board will consider recommendations on how to proceed. Residents can follow the issue through the board’s agenda and local Fort Pierce news coverage.
Source: WPTV
