We told you in June about Notre Dame's external review of its men's swimming program. That investigation confirmed a "team culture dismissive of Notre Dame's standards for student-athletes" and numerous instances of gambling, in violation of NCAA rules.
As a result, Notre Dame announced Thursday that it has suspended the men's swimming program for at least one academic year, starting immediately. The women's swimming and diving and men's diving programs will continue to participate in the 2024-25 season.
Chris Lindauer, Notre Dame's head coach of the swimming and diving programs for men and women, will remain in place. He wasn't disciplined after the internal and external investigations found that the coaching staff wasn't aware of the ongoings in the men's swimming program.
The suspended season comes after Notre Dame's 10th-place showing in the NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. It was the the first top-10 finish in program history.
Chris Guiliano, the ACC Swimmer of the Year, grabbed All-America honors in the 50-yard, 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events. He finished 4th, 5th and 3rd in those races, respectively. Tommy Janton was also an All-American with his 8th-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.
The men's 200-yard freestyle relay team of Abdelrahman Elaraby, Guiliano, Tanner Filion and Tate Bacon finished eighth at the NCAA Championships. It was the best relay finish in team history.
Guiliano and Lindauer were part of Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris earlier this summer. Lindauer served as an assistant coach. Guiliano not only won the first gold medal in ND program history, he's the first ND swimmer to make Team USA. His gold came as a member of the 400-meter freestyle relay team. He also earned a silver for his participation in the 800-meter freestyle relay heats. Guiliano also swam in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events with a best finish of eighth in the 100.
ND's Tyler Christianson also competed in the men's 200-meter breaststroke for Panama.
The full release from Notre Dame on today's new is below.
A statement from University of Notre Dame Vice President and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua:
“After receiving reports of possible misconduct on our men's swimming team, the University of Notre Dame engaged the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP to conduct an in-depth review, which is now complete. The external review confirmed and expanded on our 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. 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. 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.
While individual conduct varied, the overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension. 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. 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. While we are certainly disappointed by the actions that led to the decision, we recognize that our students make mistakes, and our goal is to educate and support them to the best of our ability.
The coaching staff participated in and fully cooperated with all aspects of the external review. The review found that the staff was not aware of gambling or the scope and extent of other troubling behaviors because team members effectively concealed such behaviors from the coaches and staff through concerted efforts. According to the review, when the staff became aware of certain isolated incidents of unacceptable conduct, they treated them seriously and professionally. We appreciate the continued service of the staff to our women’s swimming and diving programs and our men’s diving program during these difficult times.
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. We hope this decision sends a clear and unequivocal message reaffirming that commitment and expectation. And, as we do after any major action, we will continue to review our internal processes and reporting structures to ensure that we are doing all that we can to nurture a positive experience for all Notre Dame student-athletes. We will work even harder to provide a welcoming and safe community for all our students.”
We also received a statement from head coach Chris Lindauer:
“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. Our team culture is my utmost priority, and I am committed to improving upon the student-athlete experience both in and out of the pool. I am hopeful we will emerge from this situation stronger than ever.
"I remain committed to the women’s swimming and diving program and the men’s diving program at Notre Dame, and I am looking forward to working with them this season to accomplish our goals and reach new heights.”
As a result, Notre Dame announced Thursday that it has suspended the men's swimming program for at least one academic year, starting immediately. The women's swimming and diving and men's diving programs will continue to participate in the 2024-25 season.
Chris Lindauer, Notre Dame's head coach of the swimming and diving programs for men and women, will remain in place. He wasn't disciplined after the internal and external investigations found that the coaching staff wasn't aware of the ongoings in the men's swimming program.
The suspended season comes after Notre Dame's 10th-place showing in the NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. It was the the first top-10 finish in program history.
Chris Guiliano, the ACC Swimmer of the Year, grabbed All-America honors in the 50-yard, 100-yard and 200-yard freestyle events. He finished 4th, 5th and 3rd in those races, respectively. Tommy Janton was also an All-American with his 8th-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke.
The men's 200-yard freestyle relay team of Abdelrahman Elaraby, Guiliano, Tanner Filion and Tate Bacon finished eighth at the NCAA Championships. It was the best relay finish in team history.
Guiliano and Lindauer were part of Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris earlier this summer. Lindauer served as an assistant coach. Guiliano not only won the first gold medal in ND program history, he's the first ND swimmer to make Team USA. His gold came as a member of the 400-meter freestyle relay team. He also earned a silver for his participation in the 800-meter freestyle relay heats. Guiliano also swam in the 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter freestyle events with a best finish of eighth in the 100.
ND's Tyler Christianson also competed in the men's 200-meter breaststroke for Panama.
The full release from Notre Dame on today's new is below.
A statement from University of Notre Dame Vice President and James E. Rohr Director of Athletics Pete Bevacqua:
“After receiving reports of possible misconduct on our men's swimming team, the University of Notre Dame engaged the law firm of Ropes & Gray LLP to conduct an in-depth review, which is now complete. The external review confirmed and expanded on our 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. 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. 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.
While individual conduct varied, the overwhelming cultural dynamic on the team necessitates a full suspension. 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. 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. While we are certainly disappointed by the actions that led to the decision, we recognize that our students make mistakes, and our goal is to educate and support them to the best of our ability.
The coaching staff participated in and fully cooperated with all aspects of the external review. The review found that the staff was not aware of gambling or the scope and extent of other troubling behaviors because team members effectively concealed such behaviors from the coaches and staff through concerted efforts. According to the review, when the staff became aware of certain isolated incidents of unacceptable conduct, they treated them seriously and professionally. We appreciate the continued service of the staff to our women’s swimming and diving programs and our men’s diving program during these difficult times.
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. We hope this decision sends a clear and unequivocal message reaffirming that commitment and expectation. And, as we do after any major action, we will continue to review our internal processes and reporting structures to ensure that we are doing all that we can to nurture a positive experience for all Notre Dame student-athletes. We will work even harder to provide a welcoming and safe community for all our students.”
We also received a statement from head coach Chris Lindauer:
“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. Our team culture is my utmost priority, and I am committed to improving upon the student-athlete experience both in and out of the pool. I am hopeful we will emerge from this situation stronger than ever.
"I remain committed to the women’s swimming and diving program and the men’s diving program at Notre Dame, and I am looking forward to working with them this season to accomplish our goals and reach new heights.”
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