Many former Kansas University student-athletes and supporters will take part in demonstrations this weekend protesting the discontinuation of men’s swimming and tennis.
At 4 p.m. today, current student-athletes will gather at the KU alumni tent near Kansas City’s Kemper Arena and hand out fliers before the Jayhawks’ 6 p.m. game in the Big 12 tournament.
Another demonstration is planned on Saturday morning in Lawrence. Supporters will gather at 9:15 a.m. at Robinson Center, then march to Chancellor Robert Hemenway’s house.
“We really don’t know how many we’ll have,” said Dan Querciagrossa, a KU swimmer from 1990-94 who has been helping ramrod the march. “I’d guess a couple of hundred. I’d be happy for that.”
Querciagrossa, who runs a software company in Olathe, said he has contacted several hundred former KU swimmers by e-mail.
Kansas University athletics director Bob Frederick announced last Sunday that men’s swimming and men’s tennis would be dropped starting next year because of projected red ink in the budget.
“My first reaction was shock,” Querciagrossa said. “I never thought it was something KU would do. I had seen it happen around the country, but I thought KU was different.”
Querciagrossa said the purpose of the demonstrations to encourage the athletics department and the university to reconsider the move.
“We believe they made the decision,” Querciagrossa said, “without asking for financial help or exploring other ideas.”
