IRSC tables vote to cut historic swim, dive dynasty

More: IRSC proposes eliminating championship swim, dive programs

More: Petition to save IRSC swim, dive programs at almost 10,000 signatures

The report will be posted on the school's website one week before the meeting.

If a vote to eliminate the program had been approved Tuesday, the move would have taken effect at the start of the 2027-28 academic year.

"I'm very grateful that everyone on the board heard us and gave us a chance to speak about the situation," said Grace Hanson, a former IRSC swimmer who helped the program win NJCAA national championships in 2022 and 2023. "We're very grateful that they're considering delaying or tabling the vote. We really want to keep the swim team. We feel like it benefits Indian River State College, and we just want to do whatever it takes to help them see that."

Indian River State's men's team has won 52 consecutive NJCAA national championships, while the women's team has captured 48 straight national titles.

The transition of the school's softball, men's basketball and baseball programs to NJCAA Division II, where IRSC's volleyball team currently competes, was also on the meeting's agenda. The college would no longer cover student-athletes' meal plans, room and board if those programs moved to Division II.

Additionally, the administration will evaluate whether it is feasible to reinstate women's basketball for the 2028-29 academic year, two years after the college eliminated the sport in 2024. Those discussions were also tabled.

'We have an imbalance'

Moore began his opening statement Tuesday by thanking the community for attending the meeting while explaining that serving as IRSC president is a "tough job."

He later said that while he appreciates the success the swim and dive teams have enjoyed, he believes maintaining the program in its current form is unsustainable.

"It's an emotional issue and it's a legacy issue," Moore said. "I understand the impact of the decision I make. But there's 24,000 students that I'm here to serve versus 118 athletes.

"When we get to athletics, we have an imbalance, in my humble estimation."

Moore said IRSC's total athletic budget is $4.9 million, or roughly $41,000 per student-athlete, with athletic scholarships and labor accounting for $3.4 million.

He also said that despite their unparalleled success, the swim and dive teams have received only $13,000 in donations during the past three years, compared with $300,000 for the baseball program.

Kimmerman later noted that discussions regarding the athletic department's finances have taken place for three years.

"The institution is spending more to support the cocurricular experience of a student-athlete than it does on the primary education, academic support and career-building infrastructure of a standard student," Moore said. "And from my perspective, and mine alone, I don't believe this supports what I've been entrusted to do."

'Change It, Don't Break It'

Kalaa Hall was the first member of the public to step to the microphone.

Hall, a sophomore swimmer from Queensland, Australia, said he received no warning that the program might not exist in the near future.

"We learned on social media that this program that we had built our lives around might be eliminated," Hall said. "Since then, I've watched sadness and panic spread throughout the team and the public."

Many others followed with impassioned pleas.

Richard Shaw, the father of freshman swimmer Caylee Shaw, called the possible elimination of the program disingenuous, dishonest and unethical to freshmen who committed two years to the program.

"She could have gone anywhere, but we chose here," Shaw said. "And I'm sure I speak for a lot of others because we made a two-year commitment to IRSC, and we expected IRSC to do the same and honor what it represented."

Former swimmers discussed how much the program helped shape the people they are today. Supporters also stressed the importance of maintaining the swimming program, not only as a standard of excellence for younger swimmers to emulate, but also because of the role swimming plays in a state where childhood drowning remains a significant concern. Others questioned Moore and the cost of athletics.

Dr. Blanche Wells, president of Martin Swims in Martin County, also spoke Tuesday. She is the widow of Dick Wells, who founded the Pioneers swimming program in the 1970s.

"If Coach Wells were here, he would say, 'Change it, don't break it,'" she said. "He was always ahead of his time, and he said to me throughout our 32 years together, 'I just want young people to find the best that they can be.' And we're looking at them. So now we have to stand behind them."

1 of 43

Much of the swim and dive teams' financial situation came as news to the public, which hopes the additional time will allow supporters to raise funds and keep the swimming and diving programs alive.

Meanwhile, board members were surprised to learn that only one of IRSC's 43 swimmers and divers hails from St. Lucie, Martin, Indian River or Okeechobee counties.

Given the college's mission to serve the community, board members asked whether recruiting more local athletes, rather than providing scholarships to out-of-state and international competitors, could help lower costs.

"I have a huge problem with only one kid from our four-county area being on this team," said Milo Thornton, chair of the IRSC Board of Trustees.

The next board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17 at the Massey Campus in Fort Pierce.

Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at 772-985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.  

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: IRSC tables vote to cut historic swim, dive dynasty