Bill Powell retired in 2005 after 36 years at the helm of the WKU men's swimming and diving program. During that time period, his teams won 15 conference titles and the Natatorium at WKU is named after him.
Powell posted a response on his Facebook page this week after Tuesday's announcement that WKU is suspending the men's and women's swimming and diving programs following an investigation that uncovered underage drinking, hazing, and other abuses within the program.
Here is his response in full from his Facebook page:
Dear WKU Swimmers, Divers, Friends, and Supporters,
I am devastated at the loss of WKU Swimming and Diving—an athletic program that has graduated virtually all of its team members over a 45-year period. As Dr. Ransdell himself admits, the team has collected too many academic honors to list and its student-athletes have “represented WKU with distinction in the classroom and in competition.” I am certainly proud of what you all have accomplished.
I have been retired from the WKU swim program for a while, so my knowledge of the alleged incidents is no more than what everyone else has seen in the papers. It appears that the transgressions were perpetrated primarily by one or two team members, and no criminal charges have been filed.
As a teacher I was never one for disciplining a whole class for the actions of one or two students. Nor would I discipline an entire team for the actions of one or two athletes. In this case more than 50 innocent, hardworking students are receiving a devastating punishment for something for which they are not responsible. In addition, five coaches are unemployed because of the actions of a very few others.
WKU will lose most, if not all, of these fine students—and the university will also lose a winning tradition, made stellar by the actions of 99% of its student-athletes.
Finally, the city of Bowling Green will lose the WKU Swimming and Diving fundraising one-on-one swim lessons, which have taught thousands of B.G. children to swim over the years.
I know that the University was facing a difficult situation and some form of punitive action was necessary. However, this excessive penalty unfairly punishes many current athletes and all prospective athletes. I believe a better course would be to discipline or terminate the staff and athletes who were directly involved, or those who had the responsibility to intervene and failed to do so.
WKU Swimming has always represented more to me than just my job, and I look on each of you alums as members of my giant extended family. I thank the hundreds of alumni, friends, and supporters who have called, written, e-mailed, sent gifts, and expressed their appreciation for this fine program over the years and this week. You can best represent the legacy of this program by continuing to do as you did while you were on the Hill: be better than most at everything you do.
Coach
