Cal Poly cuts swim and dive teams

Author

Carly Heltzel
March 10, 2025

Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’m reading about the filming of SF’s most unforgettable ad that launched 250,000 bouncy balls down the city’s hills. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

Note: Last week, I cited an article that said the Palm Street parking garage is no longer free. Mustang News has since issued a correction clarifying that parking was paid before, but the city is returning to a pay-upon-exit model versus the gateless system it had. See the corrected article here.

1.

Cal Poly just cut its swim and dive teams, effective immediately. University President Jeffrey Armstrong cited a “rapidly evolving” NCAA for the change. That’s mostly referring to a incoming name, image and likeness lawsuit he said would set the university back $450,000 per year if approved. Student-athletes can either transfer schools or keep their scholarships for the rest of their time at Cal Poly. Swim club just got some stellar recruits.

2.

California’s predicted price for eggs was $9.22 at the end of February, largely due to a nasty bout with bird flu that has sickened the state’s chicken flocks. So, The Tribune visited every non-membership grocery store (sorry, Costco) in SLO to determine where the best prices are. They found Sprouts had the lowest price at $4.49, with Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods tied in second at $4.99. The next best option was Albertsons ($7.99) and the most expensive options were Vons and Grocery Outlet (both $9.99).

3.

Cal Poly’s men’s basketball team made it to the Big West Championships by beating Long Beach State on Saturday. The season got off to a rough start, with the team losing 20 games in a row before Athletics hired a new coach mid-season. Now, the team made it to the tournament for the first time in two seasons. The Mustangs play UC Davis on Wednesday in the opening round.

4.

UCLA, UC Berkeley and USC could lose millions in federal funding after being accused of allowing a culture of antisemitism by the Trump administration. Seven other non-Californian schools are being investigated as well. President Trump revoked $400 million in federal grants to Columbia University, where the nationwide pro-Palestinian encampments first took root last year, and accused the school of “continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”

5.

Hundreds of people stampeded around Lopez Lake this Sunday in the Cal Poly’s club triathlon team’s annual event. The over 400 competitors were either following the 19-mile sprint course or the 31-mile Olympic course. Students have put on the race every year since 1998, making it the longest running collegiate triathlon on the West Coast. One triathlon team member call the race “one of the most beautiful college races that the college kids put on.”