UMd. Swimmer Faces a Familiar Reality

Although history is not supposed to repeat itself, University of Maryland swimmer Anderson Sloan is losing his teammates and athletic program for the second time in two years.

The 19-year-old Charlotte, N.C. native spent his freshman year swimming at Clemson University, but transferred after one year because the swim program was being phased out.

Sloan is forced to relive that nightmare once again as University of Maryland President Wallace Loh announced Monday that the school will cut its swimming and diving team, along other athletic programs.

On Monday, Sloan said he learned about Loh’s decision to cut the team via e-mail.

“Thinking about having to tell my parents that this was happening again was pretty upsetting, because it broke their heart the first time,” Sloan said, in an interview Sunday, one day before Loh’s announcement. “I didn’t even want to have to make the call to tell them that I had to deal with this again.”  

His father, William Sloan, said he was “horrified” to learn of the news earlier this month that UMd. was considering the elimination of teams.

“I got a text while I was at dinner from another parent that said, ‘Have you heard about the rumors at Maryland?’ The next text said, ‘I’m so sorry to hear about the swim team.’ The next text was from Anderson asking, ‘Can you talk?’ That was in the span of about 10 minutes,” he said.

“I was sad for [Anderson] just from knowing how traumatic it was the first time and now having to relive it,” he said Sunday.  

Despite facing elimination from the school’s athletic department, Sloan and his teammates captured the 2011 Terp Cup Saturday. The sophomore helped his 200-meter breaststroke relay team place first; individually he placed third in the 100-meter breaststroke and 200-meter breaststroke races.

Sloan said that when he arrived at UMd., he did not consider the possibility that his new team could be cut; he thought it was a “fluke” when Clemson cut its program, he said.

When Sloan and his teammates were told of the potential cuts two weeks ago, he said they were allowed to ask questions, but he wasn’t satisfied with the answers.

“I asked, ‘What is the main reason for the dropping of our program?’ and [Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson] kind of fumbled around and said a bunch of stuff that didn’t have a lot of depth,” Sloan said.  

His father said he is concerned that cutting athletic teams is a shortsighted move, especially because student-athletes should be rewarded for their leadership qualities.

“As a parent you never want to see your kid hurt,” he said. “But you really wonder what the real motivation is behind [teams being eliminated] and whether the school realizes the benefits that those kids bring to them.”

On Sunday, less than 24 hours before he would learn of his team getting cut, Sloan recalled how he dealt with the experience at Clemson — a lesson that will undoubtedly help provide meaning in a situation that has left the UMd. athletic community searching for answers.

“I try to keep my head up in every situation,” Sloan said. “It didn’t take me too long for me to say, ‘Well, there’s got to be another door that opens with the closing of this one.’”

Editor's Note: The teams have until June 30 to raise eight-years worth of operating costs in order to save their programs. The men and women's swimming and diving teams face the challenge or raising $11.6 million together.

Check back on Patch in the next several days for stories about the other vulnerable teams.