Gwmayhem wrote:

Glad to see you're posting a bit more frequently Poog.  I would like your opinion as to whether you feel the swimming and diving coach would be moving on if not for this latest snafu.  My understanding was that ten team members have entered the transfer portal although some may be returning to GW now that they know their pool will not be converted to a basketball practice facility.

While there has been some criticism regarding faulty due diligence, as in how could the school not know what this was really going to cost before essentially pissing off its most successful sports team, the same perhaps could be said regarding whether making such a move in the first place would inevitably result in a team revolt.  Was there another way to research this that could have ended in all teams feeling satisfied?

I have been one to defend TV but I am left wondering if she could have navigated this a bit better?

It was only a matter of time before Brian Thomas would be moving on from GW. Dominating A10 swimming the way he has as coach for both the men and women leaves little else to accomplish here at GW. Much like his predecessor James Winchester who left to head TCU’s program, Brian has established his bona fides to take on a bigger program with greater resources. Can’t say whether the practice facility accelerated his departure but it certainly wasn’t an inducement to stay. With all due respect to his swimmers, most GW teams (baseball, water polo, gymnastics, golf, the Vern inhabitants) practice and play away from Foggy Bottom. Their disruptions and inconveniences are no less than what the swimmers articulated in their petition complaining about their proposed dislocation.

Successful or not, the basketball teams are the marquee components of GW athletics. The lack of a dedicated practice facility has long been identified as an albatross limiting the teams’ success and ability to compete with conference opponents. The snafu about the Smith Center is inexplicable but hard to pinpoint that exclusively on Tanya. It’s on her watch to be sure. But despite her George Washington pedigree, I doubt she was the surveyor, let alone the engineer or architect who came up with the original plans or cost estimates. It’s an embarrassment. It’s a disappointment. But it’s not something they’re not trying to address for both the basketball teams and the swimmers competing and practicing in a non-regulation pool.