BC Mediocrity ... Full Speed Ahead? The Looming 50+ Year PLEX Mistake

The petition to raise awareness of the non-competitive plan to "update" the Plex and Pool has grown to over 1000. Write a letter. Call BC. NEWS LINKS http://bcheights.com/news/athletics-news/2016/bc-swimming-worried-new-pool-program-future-tom-groden-brad-bates/ https://swimswam.com/boston-colleges-success-threatened-plans-facility-lacking/ Recent quotes and statements from the AD and the Boston College Athletic Department are self-serving, misleading and indicate a truly closed process that lacks any inspiration or interest in doing what's right for the BC Community and student-athletes. The image attached - as a point of reference - is the pool at MIT in Cambridge - a competitive and very useful facility for a university the size of Boston College. It accommodates the entire range of university uses, allows competitive training and actually has 3 meter diving. After so many years of the current PLEX pool, and after so many whispered plans for a new facility, the news of the absolute DOWNGRADE is stunning. What a missed opportunity! Not only is the current facility plan non-competitive in the ACC, it's dangerous to athletes who cannot practice 3 meter dives. It surrenders points in meets and makes practice times difficult and reduces programming opportunities for the BC community. It is absolutely incomplete for a university facility and is well short of national peer schools. Why? A truly intercollegiate pool would serve as an inspiring statement, in a very visible part of campus, that BC is committed to excellence. The current plan says the exact opposite and this is what teams, visitors, college applicants, recruits, and alumni will see for many years. With BC approaching the end of Spring Term, the BC Community must demand answers to hard questions. Once this goes in -- it's finished. What collaborative process shaped this facility plan? Who designed this kiddie pool facility? Certainly - no competitive expert input was respected ... or seriously sought. An 8 Lane pool quickly becomes a 3 lane pool if diving must use the pool also. This simply does not work for a competitive collegiate team in the ACC - or any other conference. What is BC Athletics afraid of? Letters have been unanswered. Open the drawings. Communicate. Locker Rooms? Team Space? Just how low is that ceiling planned for the pool? Is it now to be a cave? What's needed to adjust the plan to make it a WIN for BC? Adjusting the plan now is far better than building another non-competitive pool. We've had one of those for 40+ years already. Excellence ... remember?