The Harvard men’s team, by contrast, won the Eastern Championship in 2001.

Dartmouth Senior Associate Athletic Director Brian Austin said it was difficult to predict if other programs would fall prey to the same type of cuts.

“You never know how the economy will turn,” Austin said. “This is the first time, but it’s hard to predict the future.”

With these new reductions, Dartmouth now offers 32 varsity sports. While Dartmouth itself has never previously cut a program, Austin noted that Cornell eliminated men’s gymnastics and men’s fencing in 1993.

Harvard has never cut a team, and currently offers the most varsity sports in the nation with 41.

Harvard swimmers said they worry whether a domino effect will result in other Ivy League schools eliminating teams.

“Other schools looking to save money can use [the Dartmouth situation] as an excuse,” Brethauer said.

Austin said, however, that the autonomy of each Ivy will keep a trend from spreading.

Walker is confident in Harvard’s commitment to swimming, saying that recent meetings with Harvard athletic department officials—held in response to the recent cuts—have convinced him of Harvard’s commitment to the program.

“I think they plan on keeping it around for a long time in the future,” Walker said.By LISA J. KENNELLY

Contributing WRITER

The Dartmouth athletic department’s abrupt announcement last week that it would eliminate its swimming and diving teams at the end of this season has shocked the Dartmouth campus and college athletics nationwide.

Last Tuesday, the department announced that it was eliminating the teams as part of college-wide budget cuts.

“It opens the door to other programs being cut,” said Harvard men’s co-captain Cory Walker.

The cuts will save $212,000 annually, a necessity after a 5.7 percent drop in the school’s endowment last year, according to a Dartmouth press release.