When Ohio University visits Ball State University on Saturday, the Cardinals' women will have a chance to avenge last year's loss to the Bobcats. The men's team will not.
Ohio's men's swimming and diving team defeated Ball State 145-98 last year at the Lewellen Aquatic Center. It was the final regular season meet for the Bobcats' men's team, which was cut from Ohio's athletics department along with lacrosse and men's indoor and outdoor track and field last year. The university said the cuts were made to comply with Title IX.
"I'm very disappointed for any athletic program to drop any sports because they end up taking opportunities away from the individuals who are going to that school to compete and be part of that program," Ball State co-coach Bob Thomas said.
When Thomas began coaching 29 years ago, he said, the landscape of swimming and diving in the Mid-American Conference was completely different. There were 10 MAC schools with men's teams and fewer women's teams.
Now eight MAC schools have women's swimming and diving teams while four schools have men's teams.
"It's really sad to think that the climate has changed that much," Ball State co-coach Laura Seibold-Caudill said.
Six years ago, there were eight men's swimming and diving teams in the MAC. Since then, Bowling Green State University, Northern Illinois University and the University of Toledo all dropped their men's programs. Northern Illinois also cut its women's team.
In that same time frame, Ball State cut its budget, including scholarships, to save the men's team, Seibold-Caudill said.
"I'm sad that there's not as many schools that had the foresight to look at it like Ball State did," she said.
Thomas said by having a men's team, the women's team is stronger because the athletes can work together. Also, a lot of the women grew up with co-ed teams, he said.
The schools that drop teams also drop all the athletes who would go on to be successful alumni and give back to the university, Thomas said.
"It's a shame to see schools drop swimming or track or any program," he said. "To me it's criminal."
Ball State's programs are in a good position because at least the athletes get to compete, Seibold-Caudill said.
Without a men's team from Ohio, the Cardinals' men will not compete this weekend but the women's team will.
The Cardinals' women enter the meet 2-3 in the conference this season.
Both Seibold-Caudill and Thomas said they are happy with the position the Cardinals are in right now. Even though they lost last week, they said, the athletes swam extremely well and are getting into position for the MAC championships.
Thomas said Ball State and Ohio are entering the 1 p.m. meet in a similar position.
"We're both in the same boat, Ohio and Ball State," he said. "You just take one meet at a time, you prepare your athletes to do their particular events and then you see where you're at when they compete."
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