NEW YORK – Following a historic season, the University of Notre Dame has announced its men’s swimming programme has been suspended for at least one academic year after an external review revealed a toxic culture and numerous gambling violations.
University of Notre Dame vice president and athletic director Pete Bevacqua announced on August 15 that the decision follows an external review that was conducted after the university received reports of possible misconduct on the men’s swimming team.
Bevaqua said in a statement that the external review confirmed the university’s “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”. The review also found, according to Bevaqua, that the swimmers bet on intercollegiate swimming.
“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,” Bevacqua said.
“These findings are contrary to the University’s values and all that we stand for in Notre Dame Athletics,” Bevacqua continued. “In order to ensure that this behaviour ends and to rebuild a culture of dignity, respect, and exemplary conduct, we have decided to suspend the men’s swimming programme for at least one academic year.”
NCAA rules ban participation in sports betting activities and prohibit providing information to individuals involved or associated with any type of sports betting activities concerning intercollegiate, amateur or professional athletics competition, according to NCAA regulations.
Bevacqua said individual conduct varied, but the cultural dynamic of the team was such that a suspension of the entire programme was necessary. He said he “profoundly regrets” that this decision impacts a small number of team members who did not participate in the conduct, as well as those who were planning on joining the team in the autumn.
“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,” Bevacqua said. “While we are certainly disappointed by the actions that led to the decision, we recognise that our students make mistakes, and our goal is to educate and support them to the best of our ability.”
Bevacqua also exonerated the coaching staff, which is led by head coach Chris Lindauer.
He said the coaching staff participated and fully cooperated with the external review, which found that the staff was “not aware of gambling or the scope and extent of other troubling behaviours because team members effectively concealed such behaviours from the coaches and staff through concerted efforts.” Bevacqua added that when the staff became aware of isolated incidents they “treated them seriously and professionally.”
The discipline is strictly towards the men’s swimming programme. The women’s swimming programme, as well as the university’s men’s and women’s diving teams were not revealed to have participated in any wrongdoing. Olympic 4×100 free relay gold medalist Chris Guiliano, who was a senior at Notre Dame in 2023-24, is not believed to be one of the swimmers who gambled on races, according to Sports Illustrated, which broke the story on August 15.
Because of the timing of the suspension, returning members and incoming freshmen on the team are allowed to transfer to another university. The university’s swimming and diving rosters page only lists two divers on the men’s roster. Whereas, the women’s roster lists 33 members.
The suspension follows the programme’s first ever top-10 finish last season, finishing in 10th place at the NCAA championships in March. The programme’s previous best finish was 18th place in 2023.
Bevacqua said he hopes this decision sends a clear message to other university athletes.
“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,” Bevacqua said. “We hope this decision sends a clear and unequivocal message reaffirming that commitment and expectation.”
