The Notre Dame men’s swimming program will return for the 2025-26 season after being suspended for at least one year last summer, athletic director Pete Bevacqua announced Wednesday.
“Over the course of the last year, our men’s swimming team has taken the critical and necessary steps to correct the issues that led to the suspension of the program this past summer,” Bevacqua said in a statement. “As a result, we have made the determination that our men’s swimming team will return to full competition next season. While we have all learned some difficult lessons through this process, we are confident that this team is set up for success in the future.”
A statement from James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua ’93
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An external investigation last year revealed what the program deemed “culture” concerns, along with NCAA violations for gambling on swimming and other sports. Sports Illustrated reported the team created its own internal sports book and that a majority of the 2024-25 team was believed to have placed bets.
Bevacqua announced the suspension last August, but the 2024-25 team does have two men’s divers who still competed this year. The women’s swimming and diving team and men’s diving team weren’t found to be involved in the violations. The men’s coaching staff was also found to not be involved in or aware of the violations.
“While individual conduct varied, the overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension,” Bevacqua said of the men’s swimming team in a statement last August. “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.”
Notre Dame’s men’s swimming and diving team finished second at the 2024 ACC championships. The team came in 10th at the NCAA championships last March, its highest finish in program history. Without a men’s swimming program this year, Notre Dame finished 12th at the ACC championships last weekend.
The Fighting Irish men’s swimming program sent multiple representatives to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Swimmer Chris Guiliano won gold in the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay and head coach Chris Lindauer was an assistant coach for Team USA. Tyler Christianson swam the 200m breaststroke for Panama.
(Photo: Robin Alam / Icon Sportswire / Corbis / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
