SWIM : Unseen history: Faces of program’s 101-year history reflect on achievements, tradition
The rich history of a 101-year program can be found in a place few know where to look at Syracuse University. Located obscurely on the back end of the landmark Archbold Gymnasium, with access only through the locker room, it’s easy for those making their way in and out of Archbold to completely miss Webster Pool.
And at first glance, it’s relatively easy to see why.
Adorned with banners and photographs of the many great athletes who have swam and dove at Syracuse over the years, Webster is an antiquated structure. It is nothing like the modern, state-of-the-art swimming facilities that have raised the bar for programs around the country.
‘Webster Pool was an absolute first-rate pool in its day,’ former SU head coach Jon Buzzard said. ‘It really was something.’
Named for Buzzard’s coach, Theodore Webster, the pool still has the six 25-yard lanes and the original set of bleachers, which carry with them 60 years of memories.
A pile of trophies visible from the windows outside the building serves as a reminder of a proud, successful tradition at Syracuse. A tradition now on the doorstep of extinction.
Syracuse Athletic Director Daryl Gross announced the end of the men’s and women’s swimming and diving program on June 1, 2007. After a three-year extension, the team competed in its final home meet Feb. 4-5 against Villanova and Providence. This weekend at the Big East championships in Louisville, Ky., most SU swimmers will compete in their final meet. Only Kuba Kotynia has a chance to compete in the NCAA championships in March.
With the program’s extinction also comes the competitive end of a pool that once hosted the 1954 national championships and was home to 21 All-Americans, multiple Olympians and the first-ever Big East championship.
‘If you just look around, there’s so much history in this building,’ senior swimmer Katie Lewinski said. ‘Over the years, it has been a place of fond memories for so many people. It’s a place we’ll remember forever.’
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When Buzzard retired after more than two decades at the helm, the administration at Syracuse invested in a kid right out of college to head its swim program. Thirty-five years later, Lou Walker still has the same office inside Archbold, right next to Webster Pool.
‘Lou was an outstanding swimmer and captain of the team,’ Buzzard said. ‘I always felt Lou did a much better job than I did. Both in performance and leadership.’
Walker was a sprinter on the end of the Buzzard-coached relay team at SU, and he began as his mentor’s successor not long after graduating. He then hired Dale Neuburger, who coached with him from 1977 to 1982, as his assistant. Together, the two 20-somethings began building Syracuse into a perennial winner.
‘For a major university to hire a 23- or 24-year-old guy like Lou Walker was pretty unusual,’ Neuburger said.
Under Walker’s leadership, Syracuse became one of the first schools where the men’s and women’s teams trained together. In everything the team did inside Webster, Walker made sure the women were equal to the men.
Walker helped establish a trend of integrating the men’s and women’s teams, Neuburger said.
‘I remember talking to Lou very early on, and he said, ‘You know, I like fast swimming, and I don’t care if they are wearing a big suit or a little suit. I just like to see people swim fast and have great performances,” Neuburger said. ‘And I think that kind of characterized the way in which Lou conducted the program and the way it evolved over the years.’
Jake Crouthamel took over as SU’s athletic director in 1978. He immediately took notice of the strides Walker was making.
From the bold moves to the innovation, Crouthamel was impressed.
‘We were competitive, and we did have some exceptional athletes, and we competed quite well, I thought,’ Crouthamel said. ‘And we competed well when the Big East was formed. Competitive was never an issue.’
Since he was first hired, Walker has remained at SU for more than three decades. And those who know him well say he has been every bit as important as anyone or anything on campus during that time.
‘Much like Jim Boeheim and others, Lou really characterized student-athletes who went on to coach at the university,’ Neuburger said. ‘There aren’t many of those guys around.’
Neuburger walked into a room at St. John’s during the 1979 season and was told he needed to join Walker in a production meeting. A new sports broadcasting network was going to televise the meet between Syracuse and St. John’s in one of its initial broadcasts.
The company was ESPN.
‘I remember turning to Lou and saying, ‘So, what’s a production meeting?” Neuburger said. ‘And he said, ‘I have no idea.’
‘I thought, ‘Boy, this is really cool. This is a big deal.”
Neuburger never really imagined he would be a part of something historical as a young assistant coach at Syracuse. Thirty-five years later, the once-fledgling ESPN has become a media powerhouse.
After Neuburger joined Walker’s staff in 1977, the two young coaches were at the peak of change in Syracuse swimming. And neither of them were a day over 30.
But they were quickly becoming a part of history. Syracuse swimming was on the forefront. And it was sweet.
‘Every year has been great in its own way,’ Walker said. ‘Those early years have a lot of special memories, too.’
Later that season, Syracuse brought home a Big East championship — the first ever at any sport at SU — and Neuburger himself brought the trophy to Crouthamel’s office.
‘Over the years, Syracuse has won many Big East championships, but it really was the first one, and at that time, it was a pretty big deal,’ Neuburger said. ‘We were pretty excited about that.’
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Jay Craft began his morning routine at 5 a.m.
As his roommates remained curled up in their beds, Craft, a former SU swimmer, started the trek to Webster Pool. It was a far cry from the average college experience, but during his time at Syracuse, Webster became a second home.
‘I remember my sophomore roommates always busting on me,’ Craft said, laughing. ‘They’d be rolling over their bed at 5:30, and they’d look out the window to a blizzard, and they could see me trudging across campus.’
For Craft and many others who have shared the pool while at Syracuse, developing that regimen was the lifeblood of finding success — both in and out of the pool. And for hundreds of swimmers and divers over the years, Webster is where those early mornings began.
‘It’s like a second home,’ said Craft, a 1993 Syracuse graduate. ‘It’s like you go there and you belong. We’ve made our mark there, so it’s nice to go make and relive those memories in a place we’ve come to really appreciate.
‘I put a lot of sweat into that pool. I put a lot of work into that water.’
Crediting the hard work he learned to swimming at SU, Craft went on to reach All-American status and became a member of the U.S. national team. He qualified for Olympic trials in 1992.
For many who have come through the program and made Webster their ‘second home,’ it began with a similar early morning routine and work ethic. A work ethic that has led to a high level of success both in the pool and in life.
Craft, an education major at Syracuse, now teaches and coaches swimming at a Boston-area high school. To this day, he still reflects fondly on those early mornings at Webster. He says the lessons he learned there continue to affect his life nearly two decades later.
‘That’s where I learned how to work way harder than I ever thought I could,’ Craft said. ‘And it continues to pay off in my life today.’
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With the clock ticking down, it’s only a matter of time before Webster Pool is just an unnoticed facility within Archbold.
But for Walker, it’ll be much more. It’ll be the symbol of his career. It’ll be where 60 years of Syracuse swimming lies. And it’ll be a reminder of the once-proud program.
‘This pool has had a lot of memorable moments,’ Walker said. ‘And we’ve had a lot of great people come through this program. That’s what I’ll remember most.’
