A curious thing happened to former UW swimmer Brendon Bray in July of 2000 after he had signed on to compete at the UW: The swimming program got axed.

So Bray transferred to the University of Utah, where a month later, already practicing with his new team, he got word that former UW athletic director Barbara Hedges was reinstating the program at Washington. He transferred back the following year.

During his three years as a swimmer at the UW, and three more as an assistant coach there, Bray always had the sense that swimming was on the chopping block. That’s why Bray, now an assistant coach at San Diego State University, wasn’t surprised when he got a phone call Friday morning telling him what UW athletic director Scott Woodward had relayed to the team just minutes earlier: The men’s and women’s swimming programs would be discontinued — again.

Bray wasn’t surprised, but like many UW swimmers, he was caught completely off guard.

“I didn’t know as an alum what was going on, and I still have a lot of friends that work in the athletic department, and I know a lot of the swimmers,” Bray said. “Cutting a program — that should always be a last resort.”

Yet the possibility of such an elimination has loomed over former captain Bret Lundgaard’s head for some time. But that didn’t make it any easier for Lundgaard to handle the news when a former teammate texted him Friday morning.

“It’s tough because I was very saddened at first, and I’m almost embarrassed as well. I have a lot of pride in the school, and everyone that swims in the program has a lot of pride in the school. It’s kind of like a slap in the face. It’s an embarrassment for the University of Washington and the Pac-10.”

Henry Hudson, who set a UW record in the 200-yard backstroke his senior year, awoke Saturday morning to 20 text messages from former teammates. He was stunned.

Now in his first year as a grad student and an assistant swimming coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Hudson has fond memories of his time at Washington, even of the early morning weight-room workouts that were so tough they made half the team throw up.

“I couldn’t believe that after such a successful season, it would get cut,” said Hudson.

The UW men placed 16th at this year’s NCAAs, their highest finish in 30 years, and the women’s team came away with its second-best national finish of 15th place.

But apparent to most observers is the need to eventually replace the team’s aging on-campus facility, built in 1937. Because of the poor facilities, the team hosts its meets in Federal Way.

Eight years ago, that was among the reasons that compelled Hedges to cut the program. In a statement released Friday, school officials called the same facilities “inadequate,” given the lack of a diving well. Without a diving team, the UW is forced to forfeit points associated with those events. According to the statement, that puts the Huskies at a “competitive disadvantage.”

But Hudson says facility issues shouldn’t have factored into the decision.

“You could see how much of an improvement they made this year,” he said. “And they were training in the same facilities the UW has had for the last 70 years. I don’t think the facilities have any effect.”

The absence of the 50-meter pools used by top-level national and international swimmers has made it difficult for the program to attract top-tier talent, said Bray, the former Washington assistant. But he believes the UW’s swimmers have “done more with nothing than any other program on campus.”

Despite the elimination of swimming at the UW, Bray remains grateful for what the university has given him.

“I got my undergraduate degree there,” he said. “I got my master’s degree there. I got my first job as a coach at Washington, and I swam at Washington. For me, especially with the program being cut in 2000, it really hits home. It was a real sad day. After about 76 years of men’s swimming, it’s done.”

Reach reporter Maks Goldenshteyn at sports@dailyuw.com.