Boise State University’s Athletics program changed in early July, including by discontinuing the swim and dive programs due to COVID-19, according to a press release from Boise State University.
BSU hopes to save an estimated $3 million with the budget reduction.
However, the cut poses a bigger issue, according to University of Idaho Head Women’s Swim and Dive Coach Mark Sowa.
“It’s devastating,” Sowa said. “It’s a crisis for Olympic sports across the country and it has been even before the pandemic happened. No Olympic sport in this climate is safe unless it’s an endowed program.”
BSU and UI’s swimming and diving teams both have short histories, but found a neighborly competition from the beginning.
“(BSU) has been one of the better programs in the country, it’s a great rivalry, it’s a friendly rivalry,” Sowa said. “(The cut is) bad for the sports. It’s bad for intercollegiate sports. I think it’s really disappointing. I’m pretty upset, my heart breaks for those guys.”
It’s harder for athletic teams to travel close to the UI team by driving or busing because of the university’s location in Moscow. This limits how many schools can compete against the UI team.
“Having lost Oregon State a couple years ago and now having lost BSU, it’s a real bummer for us because those are two programs that, even though they’re long drives, we can drive to,” Sowa said.
Sowa isn’t worried about his program getting cut, necessarily, but is concerned about the university as a whole.
“We’re all in this together and we’re all doing our part to make sure again we take care of our students and our student athletes,” Sowa said. “We all have to make sacrifices. We all need to be conscious of our budget and it’s not athletics and the university, it’s the University of Idaho as a whole. I think when it comes to moments like this, this is a moment where we have to look at this like one community and one family and we (need)got to take care of each other.”
UI student athletes could not be reached for comment.
Stevie Carr can be reached at [email protected]