Cal Poly swimmers race to raise $25 million to save team. How you can help
Cal Poly athletes are racing to raise a whopping $25 million to try to save the university’s swim and dive team after it was abruptly cut from the athletics department earlier in March.
The team has until April 15 to raise $10 million, according to university spokesperson Matt Lazier. If it reaches that goal, it’ll have another 60 days to reach its final target.
So far, it has raised around $2.1 million, Cal Poly swimmer and third-year student Camilo Vargas told The Tribune.
“Any donation helps, big or small,” Vargas said. “And just as important as donations is spreading the word and telling people what’s going on.”
Athletes speak out about the cuts and their efforts
Vargas and swim team captain Alex Seybold told The Tribune the decision to cut the swim and dive program was abrupt.
Cal Poly announced the cuts on March 7. President Jeffrey Armstrong said in a statement that the decision was made due to budget cutbacks and a pending NCAA settlement agreement that would lead to further financial losses for the university.
“I was really, really sad,” Vargas said. “I think everyone on the team was very sad.”
The news also came after an incredibly successful year for the athletes, Seybold said.
“We had such an amazing season,” he said. “We had broken records on the guys and girls side. We had an undefeated season for the first time in school history on the guys side. We placed the highest we ever have at conference.”
At first, the team wasn’t given the chance to negotiate or raise money. But after some pushback, the team and its supporters were given a $25 million goal — a figure that would help fund an endowment to support the team for years to come, Vargas said.
“We knew it was going to be a big number, and so when (Armstrong) told us, we just had to accept it for what it was and then just make a plan from there to attack it,” Seybold added.
The team soon started fundraising through multiple streams, including a GoFundMe and a campaign that allows donors to sponsor a diving block, which will in turn be marked with the donor’s name.
Since the fundraising campaign started, teammates have taken to social media to spread the word.
An Instagram page dedicated to the cause shared the stories of current athletes and alumni and has been updated with the fundraising progress. One team member also took to TikTok to spread the word, with a video receiving over 500,000 views.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the GoFundMe had received $66,510 in donations, and the team also received some larger pledges, including an anonymous $1 million donation, Vargas said.
In total, the team had raised around $2.1 million as of Wednesday, Seybold and Vargas both confirmed to The Tribune — and they’re hoping that momentum continues.
Both athletes said their passion for the cause goes beyond the money itself — especially after hearing from alumni whose lives have been impacted by the lessons they learned through the sport.
“We have singers, business owners, entrepreneurs, engineers, researchers, professors — these are all people who leave a mark on society and make this world a better place. And that’s what we’re here fighting for.” Vargas said. “It does come down to money, but there’s something that we need to protect here that is worth more than money.”
Seybold added he wants to stand up for other swimming programs that might get overshadowed by high-revenue sports.
“It’s more than just this one school, this one team,” he said. “It’s really a whole swimming community, an Olympic community.”
To find the GoFundMe, visit gofundme.com/f/save-cal-poly-swim-dive. Vargas told The Tribune the donations will be refunded if the team doesn’t meet its goal.
For additional questions about where to donate or how to help, organizers can be reached via email at calpolyswimdive@gmail.com.
This story was originally published March 27, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
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