Notre Dame’s men’s swimming program has been suspended for at least one year after an investigation found several violations of NCAA rules related to gambling.
“In order to ensure that this behavior ends and to rebuild a culture of dignity, respect, and exemplary conduct, we have decided to suspend the men’s swimming program for at least one academic year,” athletic director Pete Bevacqua said in a statement.
According to the review, coaches and team staff were not aware of the violations and not all athletes took part in the violations.
The University says the school brought in law firm Ropes & Gray to handle the review after receiving reports of possible misconduct.
“We hope this decision sends a clear and unequivocal message reaffirming that commitment and expectation,” Bevacqua said. “And, as we do after any major action, we will continue to review our internal processes and reporting structures to ensure that we are doing all that we can to nurture a positive experience for all Notre Dame student-athletes.”
While the team is suspended for the next year, swimmers will be allowed to transfer. They could still face sanctions from the NCAA if they were found to have broken any gambling rules.
Full statement from Pete Bevacqua:
“After receiving reports of possible misconduct on our men’s swimming team, the University of Notre Dame engaged the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP to conduct an in-depth review, which is now complete. The external review confirmed and expanded on our initial concerns about a deeply embedded team culture dismissive of Notre Dame’s standards for student-athletes, including our expectation that they treat one another with dignity and respect. This independent, external review also documented numerous violations of NCAA rules prohibiting gambling on intercollegiate swimming and other athletic competitions despite clear and recurrent training provided to all our student-athletes by our Athletics Compliance staff about those rules. These findings are contrary to the University’s values and all that we stand for in Notre Dame Athletics. In order to ensure that this behavior ends and to rebuild a culture of dignity, respect, and exemplary conduct, we have decided to suspend the men’s swimming program for at least one academic year.
While individual conduct varied, the overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension. We profoundly regret that the small number of team members who did not participate in the conduct, and those who were planning on joining the team this fall, will also suffer the consequences of this decision. We deeply value our responsibilities as educators and our commitment to our student-athletes, and will work with other University offices as appropriate to provide support to those affected by our decision. While we are certainly disappointed by the actions that led to the decision, we recognize that our students make mistakes, and our goal is to educate and support them to the best of our ability.
The coaching staff participated in and fully cooperated with all aspects of the external review. The review found that the staff was not aware of gambling or the scope and extent of other troubling behaviors because team members effectively concealed such behaviors from the coaches and staff through concerted efforts. According to the review, when the staff became aware of certain isolated incidents of unacceptable conduct, they treated them seriously and professionally. We appreciate the continued service of the staff to our women’s swimming and diving programs and our men’s diving program during these difficult times.
As stated at the launch of the review, we take seriously our obligation to foster a community of student-athletes who not only compete and perform at the highest level academically and athletically, but whose conduct reflects the University’s values. We hope this decision sends a clear and unequivocal message reaffirming that commitment and expectation. And, as we do after any major action, we will continue to review our internal processes and reporting structures to ensure that we are doing all that we can to nurture a positive experience for all Notre Dame student-athletes. We will work even harder to provide a welcoming and safe community for all our students.”
