Just FYI - UNH cuts 4 sports

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<p>Facing deficit, UNH cuts 4 sports<br>
University confronts $1 million shortfall </p>

<p>By MELANIE ASMAR
Monitor staff</p>

<hr>

<p>February 01. 2006 8:00AM </p>

<p>The University of New Hampshire will drop four varsity sports teams next year, cut one's roster in half and begin an aggressive fundraising campaign to make up for a $1 million budget shortfall.</p>

<p>In September, UNH plans to eliminate men's and women's tennis, men's swimming and women's crew, Athletic Director Marty Scarano announced yesterday. </p>

<p>The men's ski team will also be reduced from 27 athletes to 12, and the school will start "building a robust endowment" to help fund athletics in the future. </p>

<p>The cuts will save about $500,000, Scarano said, but they're not enough. </p>

<p>"The future of Division I sports in the U.S. depends on private support," he said in a news release. "Our students and the general fund are carrying the operational burden of athletics, and we need individual and corporate donors to step up." </p>

<p>Next year, 73 students, three full-time coaches and one part-time coach will lose their spots. However, for the first time, UNH will be in compliance with the 1972 law called Title IX that mandates gender equality in college sports. Scarano said that while yesterday's announcement was "difficult," he's proud that the school is streamlining its athletic department in accordance with the law. </p>

<p>---ADVERTISEMENT--- </p>

<p>But athletes and coaches hit by the cuts said they're disappointed. While some said they felt change was coming, others said they had no idea.
"We didn't expect something of this magnitude," said junior Tiffany Heineman, co-captain of the women's tennis team. "It was utter shock. This thing kind of kicked us in the gut. To be cut is like hitting a brick wall." </p>

<p>Senior Lindsay Menard-Freeman, co-captain of the women's crew team, said the team is "devastated," especially the freshman who came to UNH because of the rowing program. She said that because most high schools don't have crew teams, UNH offers students a unique chance to learn a sport while competing at a high college level. </p>

<p>Scarano said the four cut teams could become club sports, but the athletes interviewed yesterday said that wouldn't be the same. </p>

<p>"It's disconcerting to have that be the solution," Menard-Freeman said. "There's so much more to being a varsity athlete." </p>

<p>Rachel Rawlinson, the assistant crew coach, said she was upset by the abruptness of the announcement. She said she would have preferred to have been given more notice so the team could have pursued its own fundraising efforts. </p>

<p>"There was no opportunity for us to be part of the solution," she said. </p>

<p>But the athletes said they won't let the news dampen their seasons. If anything, they said, it will push them to be better. </p>

<p>"We're going to make it the best season ever," Heineman said. "We'd like to prove that this is a mistake." </p>

<p>The plan Scarano announced yesterday also includes capping at 5 percent the increase to the student athletic fee, which all students pay to support UNH sports. This year, the fee was $691. It also includes "beefing up individual gifts . . . and fundraising to address facility needs." </p>

<p>Scarano did not return repeated phone calls for additional comment. </p>

<p>UNH is in the midst of a campaign to raise $25 million to $35 million to replace its crumbling football stadium. But Scarano stressed that the money saved by cutting the four teams is separate from the money for new facilities. He also said that even if the new stadium is built, UNH will need to pay for its upkeep. </p>

<p>If fundraising goals are not met, Scarano warned that more teams could be cut in three years. Most schools the size of UNH have 20 varsity sports, he said. This year, UNH has 24. </p>

<p>(The Associated Press contributed to this report.) </p>

<p>------ End of article </p>

<p>By MELANIE ASMAR </p>

<p>Monitor staff</p>

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<p>Any loss is a terrible loss for men's swimming.</p>

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<p>My DS also just told me that Slippery Rock in PA has just cut ''8'' varsity sports!!!!! including ALL swimming :( Tho they are allowing scholarship'd athletes to remain with their scholarships thru thier tenure.</p>

<p>I agree - very sad!!. So much turmoil for athletes as well. :(</p>

<p>SAGE44 - are you a swimmer??</p>

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<p>Any loss is terrible for any sport if it is YOUR sport.</p>

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<p>Jeep and Coureur - I feel your pain and that of all athletes! I particularly mourn swimming...that's my child's sport.</p>

<p>For fear of being stoned...it seems that the only sports that survive are football and basketball. We're losing so many of our Olympic sports.</p>

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<p>The money makers will survive always.</p>

<p>Since the sports being cut are non-income producing - well nuf said.......</p>

<p>When a student goes to college - to particupate in any sport - and then it disappears before their eyes - that is a very difficult place to be for them - a part of their life disappears with it. Wonder how many will consider transfer now to a school that can provide them with their outlet.</p>

<p>I only have 1 kiddo involved in college athletics - at a club level - but a very competitive level - and I know how she would feel if her opportunity was taken away. My other kiddo is out of college - but still participates - at the coaching level tho - in his sport of passion.</p>

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<p>They really should give kids more warning. i guess they can transfer if their sport is that important to them. But if like Slippery Rock they let scholarship athletes keep their scholarships without their sport, that is a pretty sweet deal!</p>

<p>Help me out, how does eliminating men' s and women's tennis (1 male sport, 1 female sport) and men's swimming (1 male sport) and women's crew (1 female sport) bring the university into compliance with Title IX? And how could they remain out of compliance all these years?? </p>

<p>My nephew went to a LAC expecting to wrestle (D3, no scholarship) but they eliminated the wrestling program his freshman year, clearly a Title IX issue. He was disappointed but stayed at the college.</p>

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<p>Well - the male swim team is not scholarship'd - where as the girls team is - is one way to do it and that would make a difference as far as being in compliance.</p>

<p>and yes - the scholarship incentive could be a strong factor - unless they really want to participate in their sport - personal choice.....</p>

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<p>Mens gymnastics has been so hard hit by these kinds of cuts that there are fewer than two dozen university programs remaining, down from a one-time high of two hundred programs. Mens swimming is another frequently-cut program, which might contribute to Sage's despair. Swimming requires the unfortunate necessity of pool time, which is increasingly whittled away by the demands of recreational swimmers, the surge in popularity of water polo and the soaring costs of heating and maintaining both indoor and outdoor pools, not to mention liability insurance (most certainly a factor for gymnastics as well).</p>

<p>Interestingly, it seems that many people blithely continue to assume that we owe the world a winning Olympic gymnastics and swim teams every four years. Who's donating their back yard to build the gym or the pool for the next Michael Phelps/Paul Hamm?</p>

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<p>It's the same with track and field. Men's programs in particular have been dropping like flies, including some programs that have in the past produced Olympic gold medalists. And track is the original Olympic sport - the sport that, more than any other, people associate with the Olympics.</p>

<p>As bad as track has it though, wrestling has it even worse. They are really getting cut, probably because it's a men-only sport -- so it hurts the Title IX compliance numbers, but unlike football it's not a money sport.</p>

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<p>It will be unpopular to say so here, but this is a good start. Now we just need to cut out the remaining expensive sports programs that in many cases not only drain college resources, but also in some mix give aid not appropriate under the college's need or general merit programs, admit otherwise less qualified students, and generally divert attention from academic education.</p>

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<p>Eulenspiegel --</p>

<p>Look up the origins of the "Ivy League". You don't have to like it, but athletics are as ingrained in our university system as exercise is a part of a healthy, balanced individual. To say there is no place for sports in the university system or our society is bold and I'd like to think, misguided -- reminds me of those futuristic films that depicted the man of the future as nothing but a gianormus head propped on a tiny, withered body. </p>

<p>I'm not a big fan of those guys crunching knees and butting heads in football, but just as I don't want someone banning my books, I don't think it's up to me to advocate taking away their football field. And besides, if you did -- poof -- no more marching band. Could you really have that on your conscience?</p>

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<p>The Ivy league gets it about right. No athletic scholarships, the jocks are not necessarily the BMOCs, the marching bands are not over the top. Now if they would just tighten up a little on the academic qualifications of recruited athletes, they would have the right balance.</p>

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<p>What is your perception of what the Ivies' require of athletes academically?</p>

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<p>With 353 posts, you have been here long enough to have seen plenty of posts about no one from some school having ever been admitted to some school, except recruited athletes, etc.</p>

<p>My perception is that the Ivies' admit students as recruited athletes who would not have been admitted on other criteria. I hope that most are not hopeless academic cases, but I suspect they make up a big percentage of the lower 25 percentile, with the exceptions participating in minor sports.</p>

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<p>Are you familiar with the "banding" requirements by which the Ivy coaches are bound?</p>

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<p>Yes, I have seen them, but I'm rusty on the details. If I recall correctly, there is plenty of room for some pretty feeble athletic stars, especially in football. On the other hand, I've heard of academic stars who were admitted to sit on the bench in some sport at, say, Princeton, to bring up the team average so the real jocks could play.</p>

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<p>Cheer up, things may not be as bad as you think. Here's something I found on a page explaining the process:</p>

<p>"Ivy admissions are tough, even for recruited athletes. All Ivy League schools start with a pool of more than a thousand players, and then whittle that pool down to 30. A typical “low-low,” therefore, will be in the top quarter of his high school class, with a 26 on the ACT (1180 SAT), and will be a first-team all-stater or even a high school All-American caliber player. A typical “high” might still be an all-conference caliber player with a 33+ ACT (1460+ SAT) and a top 5% ranking."</p>

<p>I'm more familiar with Princeton thanthe other Ivies, but I think they are similar in their recruiting, no? FWIW, my son was recruited as an athlete and his scores were higher than the "high" listed above. If I'm correct, athletes make up about 15% of a given class. </p>

<p>Now, for the class of 2009, about 40% of the class slots were offered (fewer accepted) to URM's. My understanding is that those students can be -- although certainly are not always -- admitted (I don't know if they are "banded" -- it might be considered discrimination?) with stats equivalent to the "low-low" or the mid-range of the athletic band to allow for cultural and environmental deficits, yet numerically you're talking about many, many more students than with the athletes. Please understand that I'm not taking issue with URM admission here, I am simply pointing out that if your complaint is students being "preferentially" admitted who you believe to be "less qualified", the URM pool could represent a significantly larger number overall than the athletes in terms of your concern. </p>

<p>There are a limited number teams and players at a given school. The admissions director, however, can swiftly affect the admissions chances of many qualified students by tinkering with the "ideal" percentage of minority students, adjusting it upward dramatically in just a year or two. </p>

<p>In light of that much larger group, the small number of "low-low" banded athletes (some of whom might be subject to the same cultural and environmental deficits as the URM's, come to think of it) being accepted in any given year seems a little less significant, unless you just have a problem with athletes in general, I guess. And then you bring out the worst in me, cuz you're talkling about my baby...</p>

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<p>Top quarter of the class and 1180 for "typical" low (so half the low are even worse?) sounds pretty bad to me. I'm glad it doesn't include your baby. Top 15%, 1350, minimum (not "typical") would still be a big accommodation. I'm glad it doesn't include your baby.</p>

<p>One more problem with "athletes in general", though. It's probably not as bad in the Ivy league, but I wonder if special residences, special food, special tutors, high administrative staff to student ratio, high coach's salaries, exclusive use training facilities, etc. are all paid for by generous alumni? Or, is this a disproportionate drain on university resources?</p>

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<p>I agree, those aren't my favorite numbers either, but that's the worst case and I think the coaches have to balance those with athletes at the high end if they even want to mention about someone at the low end. I wonder if the data is available regarding the number of athletes at that low or middle end vs. the number of URM's in that range. If sheer academic qualifications are your concern, it should be a concern across the board.</p>

<p>Now you want to talk real estate and lunch. Gosh darn it, I'm not a facilities manager...but as far as my kid goes, the facility was donated by a generous alum (who I wish to heck I'd met and married...), the "special residence" is eight guys and one bathroom in a dorm that appears to have seen better days, and the "special food" is the gift certificate I arranged at Hoagie Haven up on Nassau Street. They don't take credit cards, by the way.</p>

<p>I'm sure there are some athletes who enjoy the perks of which you speak, but to assume that such things occur across the board would be wrong. Who is helped by such a sentiment? Yes, people will continue to pay to watch football just as they gathered centuries ago to watch gladiators clash and lions eat Christians. I think your real beef is with the human race; good luck on that one.</p>