An article on The Swimmers Circle brought the story from Cincinnati.com to my attention. When Josh Schneider won the 50 yd Freestyle at this year’s NCAA Championships, he brought some well deserved attention to the University of Cincinnati with the team’s first national title since 1946.

Unfortunately, as previously announced by UC Athletics Director, Mike Thomas, all signed and current financial aid promises to swimmers and divers will be honored, but no new scholarships will be given out until the university is closer to balancing its athletics budget. Schneider compared the financial aid phase-out to “cutting off the blood to your heart… you’re going to die slowly” (source).

Schneider seems convinced that the program must reinstate scholarships in order to continue. He is further quoted in the Cincinnati.com article as saying:

“I think they will be able to get it back. I don’t know how long it will take. If not, they’ll have to cut it. They’re just waiting for it to implode.” (source)

Branden over at The Swimmers Circle brings up the argument about whether a team can support itself following a club model, or whether a scholarship cut is just the first step toward cutting the program. It seems the University of Cincinnati is in the unfortunate position of testing the theories. The nation will surely keep an eye on Cincinnati to see whether a program capable of producing national champions will fizzle without its blood supply.