The Tom Smolinski Diving Scholarship Endowed Fund

The Tom Smolinski Diving Endowment was established after Tom Smolinski’s sudden passing in 2015. 

Tom grew up in Boston, NY and went to Hamburg Schools outside of Buffalo. He was a great athlete. He was a varsity baseball player and diver. In fact, his diving record is still displayed at Hamburg High School to this day. Tom went on to Cleveland State and dove from 1997-1999 as an Academic All American. His team won championships both years. 

After college, Tom returned home to Buffalo. Not long after graduation, he was in a car accident which resulted in paralysis. Although this was devastating and detoured his plans, he faced every challenge and obstacle. He pushed forward and showed amazing strength. Tom married in 2002 and began a family in 2008. He became the loving father of twin girls, Bella and Jenna. Much of him can be seen in them. We lost Tom on Father’s Day weekend in 2015 after injuries he sustained in another car accident. How much he is missed can never be measured, but his family and friends continue to honor him and move forward. 

Establishing the Tom Smolinski Diving Endowment has provided not only an opportunity for others to go on and dive in college like he did, but it carries on his legacy. Tom was an amazing husband, father, and friend to many. He was an avid sports fan and loved his Buffalo teams, along with his Cleveland Guardians.  His humor kept you laughing and his quick wit kept you on your toes. 

As his former teammate Bogdan Kozul once wrote, “It was an honor to dive with Tom Smolinski at Cleveland State University. He was a great diver that kept us entertained and focused. We showed up every day because as a teammate, Tom made it fun and pushed us to be our best. Diving practice with Tom was a thrill all by itself. If you weren’t holding your head from a near concussion, you were holding your gut from laughing so hard at one of his jokes or stunts that he contrived for the sole purpose of distracting us from physical and mental anguish. Most of us would have loved to end the daily beatings inherent with the sport, but Tom would keep us from self-imploding at practice. Tom Smolinski was someone that was always there to pick us up and make us laugh. He never let us quit, teaching us how to be resilient – which made many of life’s daily beatings a little more manageable.”

- Bogdan Kozul, CSU ‘98

Bogdan’s words describe Tom so very well. His resilience was remarkable, as was his heart. Please consider supporting his scholarship and help continue his legacy and provide opportunities to others.