DARTMOUTH TO CONTINUE SWIMMING AND DIVING PROGRAM;
FUNDING SECURED THROUGH VOLUNTEER EFFORTS

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HANOVER, NH - The Dartmouth men's and women's varsity swimming and diving
programs will be continued through a funding agreement between a group of
students, alumni, and parents and the Dartmouth administration. The
agreement calls for the program to be fully reinstated based on a $2 million
fund-raising effort.

"I am very pleased that we have reached a positive outcome that enables us to
continue the program," Athletic Director JoAnn Harper said. "Through the
efforts of a group of generous alumni, parents and friends, and the support
of President Wright, Dean Larimore, and the senior administration, we have
overcome the budget pressure that forced the original decision."

Dartmouth announced in late November that the swimming/diving program would
be eliminated at the end of the current competitive season in March as part
of planned College-wide budget reductions.

A recent series of discussions between Dartmouth officials and supporters of
swimming and diving (including current students, their families and alumni)
produced the agreement. Under its terms the teams will be restored through
$2 million in pledges to finance operating expenses for 10 years while other
funding options are identified. The continuation of the program next year
will be supported with funding arranged through reallocations in the Dean of
the College area.

"We are delighted to reach an agreement that allows the swimming and diving
program at Dartmouth to continue, while recognizing the budget goals that
Dartmouth must meet," said Dean of the College James Larimore. "The College
does face significant budget challenges and will take the measures it must to
be fiscally responsible. The agreement supports Dartmouth in meeting our
fiscal responsibilities and also maintaining the swimming and diving program.
We are eager to do that."

President James Wright said that the plan "is a wonderful example of how the
Dartmouth community can work together in a constructive effort. I commend
the different groups involved - the athletes, Student Assembly, parents,
and alumni/ae as well as James Larimore and JoAnn Harper and her staff, and
I am pleased that we will continue to have swimming and diving at
Dartmouth."

The volunteer effort has been led by former Dartmouth varsity swimmers John
Ballard '55, Tom Kelsey '54 and Steve Mullins '54, and by several parents of
swim team members, including Dean Allen, Paul and Marilyn Bochicchio, Sheila
Brown-Klinger, Bart Cameron, and Chuck Zarba.

Ballard, chair of the Board of Overseers of Dartmouth's Thayer School of
Engineering, said the $2 million in pledges will be provided to Dartmouth
through the newly formed John C. Glover Fund for the Support of Swimming and
Diving. Glover, a member of the class of 1955, was widely regarded as a top
sprinter when he died in early 1956 while in training as an Olympic swimmer.
The athletic department presents annually the Glover Award to the swimming
team member "who demonstrates the athletic and scholastic qualities
associated with the late John Glover."

"We are grateful to the leaders of Dartmouth for their willingness to listen
to the needs of Dartmouth students, the desires of alumni, and the concerns
of swimmers and divers everywhere," Ballard said. "They have earned the
trust we place in them."

The decision to eliminate the swimming and diving program stemmed from the
impact that the current general economic downturn has had on Dartmouth, as it
has on many other colleges and universities, and the resulting allocation of
necessary budget reductions throughout the institution.

The Dartmouth athletic department faces a $260,000 reduction of its $10.8
million annual operating budget. The department had already pared down
administrative budgets, increased revenue expectations, and required
reductions to intercollegiate, recreation and maintenance budgets the
previous year.

Dartmouth faces challenges similar to other Division I institutions in
attempting to balance a broad array of intercollegiate and recreational
programs and the resources available for them. Dartmouth offers one of the
nation's most extensive Division I athletic programs with 34 varsity sports -
16 men's, 16 women's and two coed - involving opportunities for more than 900
student-athletes, while having one of the smallest enrollments in Division I
with 4,300 undergraduates.

For additional background information, see the Dartmouth Public Affairs Web
site, http://www.dartmouth.edu/~news/releases/2003/jan/010803a.html

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Decisions Concern Alum -I- Hundreds Protest Dive and Swim Cuts