<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>
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<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>