The Dad Vail departure: Who lost it? Not the city.

THE LIBERTY Bell is moving to New York, Rocky is running up the steps of the Eiffel Tower and Mummers are parading in Hawaii.

Doesn't seem possible. Well, it

isn't. But the Dad Vail Regatta, a Philly tradition, moving to New Jersey? Say it isn't so.

But exactly whodunit?

In an unfortunate communication failure, the Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee moved the Philadelphia classic to Rumson, N.J.

They followed the money. Anyone involved in the business of sports knows it's tempting to give in to short-term opportunities for hosting sporting events. (Exhibit A: the hijacking of our Army-Navy game to Baltimore.) But to move one of the city's marquee races away from Boathouse Row and the Schuylkill, where it's been staged since 1953, shouldn't have crossed anyone's mind for even a moment.

You'd think the Dad Vail committee would've consulted with the collegiate rowing community to ask for their help, administratively and financially, but it didn't. This is regrettable considering it's in the business of administering an athletic event and the student-athletes in the shells connected to the oars.

Dad Vail vice president Ken Shaw's comment that the move to New Jersey "is the best thing that's happened to the Dad Vail in the past 55 years, not the worst thing" was like "catching a crab" - having your oar stick in the water, which can toss a rower from the shell. Aren't the city and the Dad Vail connected at the hip?

MAYOR Nutter got most of the blame. But the mayor, actually a friend of the rowing community, was blindsided, as were the local collegiate rowing programs.

It's my understanding that the Dad Vail committee "reached out" to the city by sending a letter to the mayor's public e-mail address that said, "The Dad Vail has an important matter of special urgency to address with you or your representative in the near future."

Is this the way to ask for help? What about a power lunch at the Palm? A phone call? How about contacting the Philadelphia Sports Congress or meeting with those who run collegiate athletics here, the city's athletic directors?

And when the mayor's office did meet with the committee, it was only to learn that the 2010 race was already off the table, the check deposited, the move a fait accompli.

Staging a regatta in Philadelphia isn't easy, especially when corporate donations are down for everyone. It can be difficult to deal with the city bureaucracy, closing Kelly Drive, accommodating and paying for security and emergency units.

More than 200 volunteers give their time to aid the Dad Vail. But given the scope of the regatta, none of this is insurmountable. And it doesn't seem to be a problem for the 400 other events hosted in this city, which has what it takes to host world-class sporting events.

The Dad Vail is the largest collegiate rowing event in the world. More than 3,000 rowers representing more than 120 colleges entered last year. For many rowers, it's the highlight of the season. While the image of the spoiled rower is popular, it's not true. Philadelphia students from working families test their physical stamina and psychological prowess in a sport that is as gritty and demanding as they come. There is valor in rowing, especially on one of the most historic rivers in America.

Who stole the Dad Vail? The Dad Vail Regatta Organizing Committee failed in its responsibility to reach out to the very community that it is meant to represent. How this committee could have forgotten the rowing command, "Give me 10," signaling 10 strokes of special effort, as a metaphor for fulfilling its mission, is beyond comprehension.

I'm certain the city officials and school leaders who support the regatta would have been more than willing to dig their blades in deeper to keep this quintessential sporting event on the Schuylkill, where it belongs.

Eric Zillmer is director of athletics at Drexel University and a member of the executive committee of the Philadelphia Sports Congress.