Michigan State Approves Construction of Recreation Facility with 50-Meter Pool

Photo Courtesy: Michigan State Athletics

Michigan State Approves Construction of Recreation Facility with 50-Meter Pool

Michigan State University’s Board of Trustees on Friday approved funding for a $200 million recreation building, which will include a 50-meter pool. The facility would bode well for the possibility of reinstating the Michigan State varsity swim teams.

The new facility, to be built south of the Breslin Center, is scheduled to be operational by Feb. 2026. It would provide a new home for the Spartan program, which was discontinued abruptly at the end of the 2020-21 season. The new facility ushers in, in the words of Board of Trustees Chair Rema Vassar, a “window of opportunity for supporters of the program.”

Since then, the Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive campaign has lobbied for its reinstatement. That has included support from the wider swim community and funding among alumni and supporters. The group has raised $6 million of its goal of $6.5 million to fund the program. The university’s commitment to a new facility is a big part of supplying the resources needed for the program to be sustainable. Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive called the new facility, “a victory for not only MSU, but for the tens of thousands of swimmers, divers, water polo players, and others who have long deserved access to a quality facility.”

Even though a district court found Michigan State to have violated swimmers Title IX rights for equal athletic opportunity, the courts did not require the school to reinstate the programs. However, the campaign has met with new leadership at Michigan State – both the university president and athletic director who presided over the original decision have either left the school or moved into new roles – and had productive discussions. Vassar said the board is “aligned to restart the swim and dive program.”

From a Battle for Spartan Swim and Dive release on Friday:

The Battle team is excited to now have the official support of the university in our fight to bring back the Men’s and Women’s Swim and Dive teams. We are closing in on the previously established target of $6.5 million to help defray the program’s operating costs over the next five years. In addition, the Battle group is happy to honor the university’s latest request to help identify potential donors who can supplement construction costs for a NCAA Division I competition-level facility.

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