text: Swimming The University of Washington swimming team dates back to 1932 when the men's team was founded. The women's team was founded in 1975. In 2009 the athletic department announced both the men's and women's programs would be eliminated due to a $2.8 million budget cut in the athletic department. In 2000 the it was announced that both the men's and women's team would be cut but an outpouring of mail and phone calls, plus concern in the media about discontinuing the sport, led to a reversal of the decision and both programs were reinstated. In 1975 UW announced it was cutting the men's team, citing financial issues involved in having to implement a new women's program to comply with Title IX and decreasing revenue from a shaky economy and a struggling football team. The men's team was reinstated a couple of months later but with fewer scholarships.
  Throughout the history of the swimming programs at UW there were many successful athletes to compete for the huskies. The UW swimming program produced several Olympic medalists. These include Jack Medica, Rick and Lynn Colella, Rick DeMont, Doug Northway, and Robin Backhaus. In the 1970's the men's team had multiple top five finishes at the NCAA championship meet. In 2008, the year before the program was eliminated, the women's team finished 15th while the men's team finished 16th at the NCAA championship.