UVM cuts five varsity
sports
By Matt Crawford
Free Press Staff Writer
The University of Vermont announced Thursday that five varsity sports programs
are being eliminated at the end of the 2001-02 academic year.
The cuts are expected to save at least $100,000 in the school's thinly
stretched athletic budget.
The five sports cut are men's and women's gymnastics, women's volleyball, men's
indoor track and men's outdoor track. Athletes and coaches involved were told
of the university's decision in afternoon meetings with athletic director Rick
Farnham.
"There was no one program that deserved to be cut more than any
other," Farnham said. "I do know that as the manager of the athletic
program at the University of Vermont there is a need for change."
Two part-time head coaches, three part-time assistant coaches and some 60
athletes will lose their positions as a result of the cuts.
Head track coach Ed Kusiak will remain with UVM, coaching cross country and
women's track.
"It's a very disappointing day," Kusiak said. "What bothers me
most is the fact that after 34 years of really loyal service at the University
of Vermont, they didn't even give me the courtesy to get up in front of the
people who are making the decisions and defend what I've been trying to
do."
The men's indoor track program began in 1969; outdoor track, in 1970.
Athletes of the affected teams bristled at the school's decision.
"I feel kind of cheated," senior gymnast Jason Morris said. "I'm
upset because I feel this is unjustified. I haven't heard any reason why we
would be cut. If it really was a move for financial reasons, I think they could
have gone about it in a lot of different ways."
Senior runner George Deane said members of the men's track team were stunned by
the announcement.
"All of the freshmen on the team, I advised them to transfer today if they
had any love of running," Deane said.
Gymnastics coach Gary Bruening was prepared for the news.
"I've been here 15 years and during that entire time there has always been
an undercurrent of, 'Do we have too many sports? Do we need to drop
some?'" Bruening said. "You don't drop the sports you really value,
and I've never been able to garner the value of the people making these
decisions."
The five jettisoned sports will save UVM only minimal amounts of money. None of
the five sports had a full-time coach, none offered scholarships and all had
minimal operating expenses.
"It's not a huge amount of dollars," said David Nestor, interim vice
president of student affairs. UVM will still offer 22 varsity sports when the
cuts take place, higher than the America East conference average of 19.
Men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, field hockey and golf are
among the sports UVM will continue to offer.
"I was surprised at how few teams were cut, actually," said
gymnastics captain Allyson Schneider.
"I'm amazed that some of the other teams didn't get cut and we did,"
added Deane.
School administrators ordered the UVM athletic department to chop $350,000 from
its $5.6 million budget. The cuts will eliminate about $53,000 in coaching
salaries and at least $50,000 in game-day operating expenses each year. The
athletic budget was trimmed earlier this year when nine employees accepted an
early retirement package that takes effect July 2003. The buyout, which Kusiak
has accepted, eliminated $322,654 from the athletic budget.
UVM said the sports were cut after being assessed by several criteria: the
program's impact on enrollment, the competitive level of success, the level of
interest generated, potential for future growth, the level of financial
resources and the program's contribution to academic quality.
The dropping of five sports comes concurrently with UVM's decision to emphasize
winning by its high-profile teams. Thursday's cuts will not translate to
significantly more support for the school's most visible sports.
"How would this help the teams that remain win more?" asked Farnham,
who said additional changes were in store. "This Part One of some other
things that need to happen. We're not done. We can't be."
Nestor, who had hinted in August that six or more sports would be chopped, said
some programs were spared because additional funding might be produced in the
school's upcoming capital campaign.
"We've considered a lot of different options beyond what the final
decision was."
Free Press staff writers Hillary Read, Patrick Garrity and Candance Page
contributed to this report. To contact Matt Crawford call 651-4852 or mcrawfor@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com