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SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 22: Cal State University (CSU) faculty carry signs as the picket in front of San Francisco State University on January 22, 2024 in San Francisco, California. Tens of thousands of CSU faculty and staff walked off th
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco State University announced Thursday that it’s eliminating some sports programs to help balance the university’s budget amid a “significant deficit,” school officials said.
The news came from SF State’s Office of the President.
Sports teams on the chopping block include baseball and men’s soccer.
Around 44 student athletes will be impacted by the changes. The university said they will maintain their commitment to student athletes on scholarships and assist those who are considering transferring to continue playing in their respective sports.
Wrestling was suggested to be cut according to the Athletics Task Force’s proposal. Instead, the university removed the wrestling team from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, which will reduce out-of-state travel, cutting traveling costs by 25-40%.
Baseball and men’s soccer will be eliminated by July 1. Additionally, women’s track and field will no longer compete during the indoor season but operate only during the outdoor season to distance events.
What they’re saying:
The university said the savings expected from reducing their sports programs will amount to $800,000 to $1 million yearly.
In a task force proposal, the university claimed the athletics department had accumulated significant debt in the past three years, saying the department paid out scholarships “that far outpaced the department funds,” leaving them $1.2 million in debt.
The impacted teams were chosen based on wanting to minimize the number of impacted students, the costs of maintaining the team and their facilities, the availability of the sports in the CCAA, and the availability of alternatives like club sports.
“For several years, the university has been working on increasing philanthropic support for Gator Athletics. While we have had great success at raising philanthropic dollars to support our academic programs…we have not seen the donor interest materialize at the level needed to sustain these three teams,” school officials said.
School officials said the university still complies with the NCAA, CCAA, and Title IX regulations despite these cuts.
Dig deeper:
San Francisco State University is not the only Bay Area college to make changes to its sports department.
Sonoma State University announced in January they are discontinuing all athletic programs to help balance a $24 million deficit, much to the chagrin of student athletes.
The move caused a grassroots organization to file a complaint against the university, alleging the university unfairly targeted the student athletes.
The Source: San Francisco State University, previous KTVU reporting
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