The Associated Press
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (AP) ” Slippery Rock University is cutting eight varsity sports in an effort to save about $350,000 a year, school officials said Monday.
Men’s golf, swimming, water polo, tennis and wrestling are being cut, as are women’s field hockey, swimming and water polo. The cuts take effect when the 2005-06 academic year ends this spring.
The cuts impact 122 athletes. Those on athletic scholarships can remain at the school for as long as they would have been eligible to participate in their sport, provided they continue to meet academic standards, school officials said.
The school will also help athletes transfer to other schools, if they wish. Students whose sports are discontinued will immediately be eligible to play at another school.
Slippery Rock has imposed a moratorium on any other varsity sports cuts for five years so coaches and prospective student-athletes can plan for the future, officials said.
The university has cut costs in recent years through management cuts and other staffing moves, but still faces a third straight year of multimillion-dollar budget cuts because of fixed costs and revenue cuts, president Robert Smith said.
The university studied possible cuts since 2001, and made the decision based on which sports would require the greatest future investment in facilities, which especially impacted the water sports, and other factors, including competitiveness of the teams, and the financial and alumni support each sport received.
The cuts leave Slippery Rock with 15 varsity sports. The men’s sports include football, baseball, basketball, cross country, soccer, indoor track and outdoor track. The women’s sports are basketball, cross country, volleyball, soccer, softball, tennis, indoor track and outdoor track.
Slippery Rock, with an enrollment of about 1,100, is one of 14 state-owned universities. It is located about 45 miles north of Pittsburgh.
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