On Tuesday, June 28th, Florida Institute of Technology's Department of Athletics cut five varsity sports and demoted, amongst others, the men's and women's rowing teams to club status. With no prior warning or indication that this was something the department was considering, everyone but the administration was caught off guard by this sudden and abrupt move.
The 2022 season was preceded by an arduous two years where the effects of the pandemic resonated throughout the rowing program - limited practice and racing opportunities combined with a struggle to maintain pre-pandemic roster sizes due to graduation, health and safety concerns, etc. meant that both teams faced challenges that could impact the success of their seasons.
Calling this move a realignment and a "strategic decision to deliberately increase our competitiveness within our Sunshine State Conference," indicates that the department is either unaware or willfully ignoring the four straight Sunshine State Conference titles held by the women, which they won in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021. (2020's regatta was canceled as a result of the pandemic).The move also comes four weeks after the IRA National Championship Regatta, where the men's team took fifth overall in the Varsity 4+ out of a field of 25 crews and six weeks after winning the same event at the 2022 Dad Vail Regatta. The team's capturing of the Curran was celebrated by the university, noting that the crew was "unmatched" in their Saturday semi-final and continued their "impressive pace" in a 3-second win over the second-place crew.
This "strategic decision" to transition varsity programs to club status is similar to the actions taken by Stanford in July 2020 when they eliminated 11 of their 36 varsity sports. In that instance though, the teams were at least given the courtesy of a one year warning, whereas the decision by FIT came down like a guillotine on the neck of its flagship athletic programs. In May 2021, ten months after the announcement was made in a public letter, Stanford alumni reached a collaborative conclusion with the administration that resulted in the reinstatement of all eleven varsity sports.
On June 29th, one day after the realignment announcement, a meeting was held between FIT administrators and student-athletes of the affected teams. Rowers who attended stated that the administrators "couldn't answer many of our fundamental questions about the changes and the reasoning behind it." Around the university, many students and staff have agreed that the decision appears to have been rushed, "with very little planning and preparation for the effects of the decision."
With only eight weeks until the start of the fall semester and minimal information being provided by the department or university, students feel like they're being left in the lurch. Returning rowers must now make a decision to remain at FIT or transfer to another school in order to continue competing at the varsity level. In a different kind of purgatory are the 17 incoming student-athletes, lured by the promise of a varsity program that would support them throughout the duration of their college experience. The options available to them are even more limited if they are coming from abroad, which is not uncommon for either team.
In response to this decision, FIT's alumni organization, the Friends of FIT Rowing Association (FFRA), as well as the current student-athletes have begun working together and with outside parties in an effort to come to a mutually beneficial resolution with the administration and athletic department. FFRA is presenting a proposal to the school's Board of Trustee's Executive Committee Thursday morning on a sustainable approach to retaining rowing as Varsity. In talking with the affected rowers, they remain optimistic and are committed to each other and the team but are understandably saddened about the possibility of having competed in their last race as varsity athletes without knowing it.
While the future remains uncertain, FIT's decision continues to be a galvanizing force that has provided the parents, alumni, and friends with an unexpected but no less forceful rallying point behind both teams. The student-athletes have started a petition in support of all affected sports that is closing in on 7500 signatures, which you can add your name to by clicking here. Additional information on the FFRA and the reinstatement campaign can be found at https://friendsfitrowing.com/.