SWIMMING / THERESA MUNOZ : Decrease in Prize Fund for U.S. Athletes Urged

Skeptics, fearing that NCAA swimming would go the way of NCAA track and field--with top athletes passing on college swimming or leaving college swimming early--applauded a drastic reduction in prize money for the 1994 World Championships and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

Under new Vice President Harris Troutman, United States Swimming Inc.’s Athletes Executive Committee called for $300,000 to be used for prize money and $1.1 million to finance monthly support stipends. Medal winners were to divide $1.4 million.

Former Stanford swimmer Stu Corliss said of the decrease: “We don’t need to reward Matt Biondi, we need to reward the five Matt Biondis coming up.”

Committee member David Berkoff, a 1988 and ’92 Olympian, says that most of the money should finance training.

“There has to be enough money coming in to an athlete during the year to survive,” Berkoff said of the postgraduates who pay their own expenses, unlike their NCAA counterparts.

Barcelona Olympic gold medalist Melvin Stewart was among the swimmers disappointed by the decrease in prize money.

“You have to justify all that work,” said Stewart, who believes that increased prize money would appeal to youngsters choosing between professional sports and swimming.

“There is a certain amount of prestige and visibility that prize money brings to the sport,” he said. “After every Olympics, U.S. Swimming has a surge in membership. The kids see swimmers on TV and in commercials and magazines. It’s not so much the money as the moment. But money can enhance motivation over a long period of time.

“When you wake up in the morning and it’s 5:30 and you have to be at practice by 6 and it’s cold and you’re going to (swim) far, the bottom line is, you don’t want to be there. If you miss one day, you could lose the gold because your competitor halfway around the world won’t miss. So the money adds fuel to the fire.”

No final decision will be made until the U.S. Swimming Board of Directors meeting Jan. 22-24 in Colorado Springs.

Contrary to published reports, the introduction of prize money is not new. In August of 1991, $145,000 was divided among non-NCAA and non-high school medal winners from the Pan Pacific Championships at Edmonton, Canada. The money, supplied by the U.S. Olympic Committee, was also to be used to reward ’92 Olympic medal winners, but the United States fared so well at Edmonton that none was left for the Barcelona Olympics.

Several of the greatest American swimmers and coaches, including former Indiana coach James (Doc) Councilman, gathered earlier this month to honor Peter Daland, who retired last spring after 35 years as USC’s coach.

One swimmer told of the time Daland was interrupted while leading dry-land exercises to take a phone call. When he returned, Daland said: “Gentlemen, I am the proud father of a new baby boy, and the next exercise is . . .”

Brian Fox of the Class of ’64 said that he cannot get Daland’s sayings out of his head. “This guy is ruining my life,” Fox said. “I can still hear him say, ‘Today’s champion is tomorrow’s bum.’ ”

Daland was gracious, though he did manage to kid UCLA Coach Ron Ballatore, saying: “It was very kind of Ron Ballatore to come all the way down here from that large public place, I’m sure his Trojan wife was deeply stirred by this.”

Swim Notes The UCLA men’s alumni meet will be Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center in Pasadena. The UCLA-Stanford water polo match and the UCLA-Stanford football game follow at 4 and 7 p.m.