2008 Woodie Awards
SRU athletic legacy dwindles after cuts
Issue date: 2/3/06 Section: Opinion
It was announced on Monday that eight varsity intercollegiate sports will be cut after the spring semester this year. In what seems like a cost-cutting move, the university just cut the sports that, in the administration's eyes, failed to make enough revenue.
It's a shame that the university had to make a decision based on the almighty dollar rather than on consistent performances and programs that are high-profile. The wrestling team was classified as Division I this season and attracted students that may have gone to other, bigger schools just because they were Division I. Men's and Women's water polo attracted numerous water polo players because their just aren't any other programs around this area, especially among the state schools.
This will definitely lower the morale of all the student-athletes, especially those whose sports are being cut. Although the university is honoring the students' scholarships, many of the players on those sports have such a passion to play that they will find another school to exhibit their talents.
Students transferring will obviously take away from the university's overall enrollment, but the bigger impact will come in the future when prospective student-athletes in those sports will turn away from looking at Slippery Rock as a choice for a school because they don't have that sport. Over a few years, that could end up taking away from enrollment and start a decline.
Also with prospective students, SRU has used the amount and variety of sports as a marketing tool to get students to come to this university. SRU has been known as a school with sports that other state schools just didn't have. That's definitely not going to be the case now. SRU had 23 intercollegiate sports on a varsity level and now the Rock will only have 15, just slightly more than the average Division II school. Average is not what Slippery Rock should be shooting for in anything, athletics or otherwise. And yet after this spring, Slippery Rock will lose that unique distinction of having more sports than the other state school and coming down to their level, seeing the same sports at the same types of campuses. Just to put that in an analogy, would any student that cares about Slippery Rock want the school to be more like IUP or Clarion? That's what the Slippery Rock athletic program is becoming with the amount of sports they will be offering starting in fall 2006.
It's a shame that the university had to make a decision based on the almighty dollar rather than on consistent performances and programs that are high-profile. The wrestling team was classified as Division I this season and attracted students that may have gone to other, bigger schools just because they were Division I. Men's and Women's water polo attracted numerous water polo players because their just aren't any other programs around this area, especially among the state schools.
This will definitely lower the morale of all the student-athletes, especially those whose sports are being cut. Although the university is honoring the students' scholarships, many of the players on those sports have such a passion to play that they will find another school to exhibit their talents.
Students transferring will obviously take away from the university's overall enrollment, but the bigger impact will come in the future when prospective student-athletes in those sports will turn away from looking at Slippery Rock as a choice for a school because they don't have that sport. Over a few years, that could end up taking away from enrollment and start a decline.
Also with prospective students, SRU has used the amount and variety of sports as a marketing tool to get students to come to this university. SRU has been known as a school with sports that other state schools just didn't have. That's definitely not going to be the case now. SRU had 23 intercollegiate sports on a varsity level and now the Rock will only have 15, just slightly more than the average Division II school. Average is not what Slippery Rock should be shooting for in anything, athletics or otherwise. And yet after this spring, Slippery Rock will lose that unique distinction of having more sports than the other state school and coming down to their level, seeing the same sports at the same types of campuses. Just to put that in an analogy, would any student that cares about Slippery Rock want the school to be more like IUP or Clarion? That's what the Slippery Rock athletic program is becoming with the amount of sports they will be offering starting in fall 2006.
