April 24, 2006
Dear Fellow Alumni,
The time to act is NOW! Decisions are being impacted and made as you read this letter. There is no chance you can wait to do something if you want your sports to be retained by this University. This appeal is about your four years here, and about providing current and future students-athletes the opportunity to have the swimming/diving experience too. THIS IS IMPORTANT STUFF!
We need to write in the next two days to the people who appear at the bottom of this letter. Understand these officials have done extensive research on this problem. They have counter-arguments for all of the rationales and arguments we can think of. They have done their homework, or at least they think they have. We have to hit them with intensity, volume, and from a place, a passion, only we as swimmers/divers bring from our own competitive experiences. They were apparently underestimating us in 1980; will they do the same in 2006? Below we have listed some major “talking points” we feel will be very effective when you do write this week.
First, by retaining the Women’s Team you help yourselves solve the Title IX issue. (Women’s Swimming is the third largest women’s team on campus- 35.) At this point in time there are only five scholarships for the women; that means there are an equivalent of thirty who are not receiving any aid from Athletics. Second, by retaining the Men’s program you can actually spend less money to run a program because the teams share coaching staffs, transportation costs, etc. And, there are 20 – 24 students (men who are not on scholarship) being attracted to the University and paying tuition. We now have only two scholarships on the Men’s side.) Third, the University of Rhode Island has one of the best, if not the best, swimming facilities in the Atlantic Ten, which will attract talented student – athletes to the University, a majority receiving no athletic scholarship support. We have the resources to get better if we receive the support to match. Fourthly, as evidence of that, we have experienced notable success: In 1999, we had the Diver of the Meet at the Atlantic Tens – Frank Leopardi. We had national qualifiers in 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002 (Again Frank and Ashley Good, both divers.) Christine Sleger was an Atlantic ten Champion in 1998 and 2000. Our Women have been Academic All American for the past nine consecutive semesters. Ryan Sheatsley (’08) has the second highest GPA of all male student – athletes on campus right now, and Dominic Moccia (’06) has the highest GPA of all senior male student – athletes.
WE NEED TO ACT THIS WEEK! We need to write NOW, we need to be LOUD, and we need to back our appeal up with money. There is no question that money talks. We have raised $4,000 since April 10th before even getting involved in this mess. I challenge you to help me raise $10,000 ($6,000 more) right now. If you gave $50 before, pledge $100, if you gave $250, give $500. Double, triple, whatever what you might normally do, because we don’t live in normal times. Let the people you are writing to know what sacrifices you are making to get this done. And, also please spread the word. If you are getting this letter but fellow teammates/classmates aren’t, get them involved. Get them writing too. (And, then ask them to send us their contact information.)
Thanks for your support. Let’s win this thing! Think this for a minute, that you are competing against your biggest rival in college, a UMass or a Boston College, whomever. Now be as determined to win this race as you were back then. Win this and we preserve all of your hard fought, and won, efforts.
Warm regards,
Dave Licciardi, ‘93
President, Fast Lane Club
Addendum, people to write to:
Dr. Robert Carothers President muskrat@uri.edu
Dr. Thomas Dougan Vice President for Student Life tdougan@uri.edu
Mr. Robert Weygand, Vice President for Business and Finance bobw@uri.edu