Boston College posted a job opening for the head coaching position of the men’s and women’s swim and dive programs on Friday, signifying the program’s return.
The job opening comes after BC announced that head coach Joe Brinkman and his staff would depart the team after the swim and dive program was indefinitely suspended following hazing allegations in Sept. 2023.
In January, BC Athletic Director Blake James announced through a University release that the team’s initial suspension would be extended through August 2024, including team practices, activities, and competition.
“After an extensive investigation that included interviews with student-athletes, coaches, and staff, and conduct hearings through the Office of the Dean of Students, Boston College has made the decision to extend the suspension of the Swim and Dive program through August of 2024,” University Spokesman Jack Dunn wrote in a statement to The Heights at the time.
All swim and dive team members will also be required to participate in a hazing education program, according to Dunn.
“It is the hope of BC Athletics that these measures will enable the program to move forward in the 2024-2025 academic year,” Dunn wrote at the time.
BC indefinitely suspended the swim and dive program on Sept. 20, 2023 after University administrators initially announced that hazing occurred within the program.
Then, in a letter from the Office of the Dean of Students, obtained by The Heights, BC clarified that it had not yet determined if hazing had taken place within the program and intended to fully investigate whether or not policy violations occurred.
A letter from an administrator in the Office of the Dean of Students—sent to a member of the team and obtained by The Heights—initially alleged that attendees of a swim and dive freshman event were instructed to binge drink and forced to consume their own vomit.
In October, 37 members of the swim and dive team filed a lawsuit against BC, alleging the imposed suspension was unjustified. In their legal defense, BC administrators said their ongoing investigation confirmed that hazing, involving power dynamics and excessive alcohol consumption, occurred within the program.
Allegations of forced vomit consumption were absent from the University’s legal defense.
After a Middlesex County judge denied the athletes’ motion for an emergency injunction to reinstate the program, the members of the team dropped their lawsuit.
In the 2023 ACC Swim and Dive Championship, BC finished last out of 12 programs in both the men’s and women’s final standings. While the team broke 10 school records at the meet, the women finished 136 points behind 11th place Pittsburgh and the men finished 52 points behind 11th place Miami.
BC was suspended for the 2024 ACC Swim and Dive Championship in February, the 2024 NCAA Championships, and all other meets through August 2024.
