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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
Nobody on the team knew, but the spring 2008 swimming and diving season would be the last for the Metro varsity team. After the final meet, the swimmers and divers were informed that swimming and diving was being dropped as a varsity sport at Metro due to numerous NCAA violations.
"I had my suspicions in the Spring after our second round of violations," said former volunteer assistant coach Chris Farris. "But it wasn't until I got the phone call (for the mandatory meeting) that I knew our program was done."
According to Metro Athletic Director Joan McDermott, there were three reasons that the varsity swimming and diving program was cut: NCAA violations fall of 2007, violations in the spring, and a failure to have enough people on the roster for the past five years.
The lack of participants is mostly an unfortunate consequence of a non-traditional, commuter college. The violations in both seasons were the result of swimmers competing despite not taking at least 12 credits and maintaining a 2.5 GPA as required by the NCAA. In the fall alone there were between 11 and 15 violations, Farris said.
"The Athletic Department told (head coach) Casey (Story) and I it couldn't happen again," Farris said.
But a change of head coaches couldn't halt the violations when 2008 began.
"Two girls on the team, without telling us, had been swimming with less than 12 credits," Farris said. "I don't think anyone was more frustrated than me and Casey that the team was dropped."
Story had been the head coach for the spring season after former head coach Winthrop Dyer, who had led the team for two years, resigned over personal issues. Story had intended to become the permanent head coach of his alma mater, but after the program lost its NCAA designation, the former Metro star chose a different route.
"When we found out that the program was being cut, Casey decided that it was not beneficial to come down and coach at Metro," Farris said. "I've been in the program for four years, and I wanted to keep swimming alive here at Metro."
Farris founded the Metro swimming and diving club team.
"My goal is to get this team back into a position where we might be a varsity sport again," Farris said. "Although for a lot of the swimmers, this is a better situation right now."
Being a club sport is certainly beneficial to Univervisty of Colorado Denver and Colorado Community College students at Auraria. As a varsity Metro sport, only full-time Metro students could join, but as a club sport, anybody taking a class on campus is eligible as long as they pay the dues, which, Farris admits it can be a problem because although he has 35 people on his roster, only 17 have paid and will be able to compete.
Having to pay to swim is a far cry from some athletes getting full or partial scholarships, but seven former swimmers have stayed to compete for the club team. Not all are happy about the switch from varsity to club. Sophomore diver Abdul Yacubu did not have the academic standing to be able to dive for Metro last season, but he had worked to gain eligibility to be able to dive in the fall. Now he won't be competing in the NCAA despite his having met the requirements.
"I was ready to compete, so I wasn't real happy about it," Yacubu said in between practice dives. "But it's still a chance to keep diving."
As president and head coach of the new Metro club swimming and diving team, Farris has a similar feeling. He was dissapointed to see the varsity team fall after all the hard work he put into it during four years as a player and coach. Now he's making do with what he has as he roams the edge of the pool watching his new team come into shape.
The one thing that won't change from the NCAA days is that they will compete against the same schools, including Mesa State, School of Mines and DU. And after five coaches at the program over the last four years, stability can be a good thing.
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