After months of waiting and speculation, the external review of Notre Dame’s men’s swim team has come to a close. The university announced Thursday that the team is suspended for at least one year for violating NCAA gambling rules.
While Notre Dame’s athletic director did not reveal any details of the review, an anonymous source did come forward to ESPN to provide details of the violation.
According to ESPN, “members of the team had set up a makeshift, internal sportsbook where athletes could wager on the times posted by themselves or teammates at meets. Athletes were not found to have bet on opposing teams or on any other Notre Dame athletic events.”
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The group organizing this internal gambling environment made up nearly 60% of the returning student-athletes. These swimmers were also found to be part of a group text filled with derogatory messages, but there is no evidence of physical hazing.
The review concluded that the coaching staff was unaware of the swimmers’ gambling due to the effectively concealed operations. No coaches were terminated with the team’s suspension.
In his statement, athletic director Peter Bevacqua said, “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.
Coach Lindauer said, "While it has been a difficult few months, I am confident that Notre Dame took the correct steps to ensure this misconduct does not continue. I am hopeful we will emerge from this situation stronger than ever."
The suspension of the men’s swimming team does not affect the women’s team or the diving team as they were not found to participate in the gambling violations. The suspended men are allowed to transfer, however, transferring will not erase the suspension. At this time, any of the members of the men’s swimming team who were not directly involved in the gambling violations may transfer without continuing to face the suspension.
