Campus News

UB reduces intercollegiate sports teams from 20 to 16

Aerial view of North Campus featuring stadium.

By JOHN DELLACONTRADA

Published April 3, 2017 This content is archived.

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portrait of Satish K. Tripathi.
“We will work very hard to provide our student-athletes and coaches who are impacted by this decision with the support they need. ”
Satish K. Tripathi, UB president

UB is reducing the number of its intercollegiate athletic programs by four, effective at the end of the spring 2017 season.

Affected teams are men’s baseball, men’s soccer, men’s swimming and diving, and women’s rowing. This brings UB’s total sports sponsorship from 20 to 16 teams.  

“This has been a very difficult decision made only with extensive deliberation,” said UB President Satish K. Tripathi. “The unfortunate reality is that we no longer have the resources to support 20 competitive Division I athletic teams. I know that this is a difficult day for our student-athletes, our coaches, and the entire athletics program and university. We will work very hard to provide our student-athletes and coaches who are impacted by this decision with the support they need.”

This decision will better align UB with its Mid-American Conference peers in terms of types and total number of sports teams sponsored by the university. The NCAA requires Division I FBS schools to sponsor a minimum of 16 sports and the Mid-American Conference requires member universities to sponsor football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball.

“As a former student-athlete, I empathize with how difficult this is for our impacted student-athletes. I recognize the strong sense of identity tied to the uniform and the value intercollegiate athletics provides young people,” said Athletics Director Allen Greene.

The reduction in teams followed a comprehensive review and analysis of the athletics department’s budget and programs, and considered rising costs affecting athletics programs nationwide, Greene said.

“We operate in a hypercompetitive environment and are not immune to the financial challenges facing programs at our level,” said Greene. “Regrettably, after exploring many scenarios, the reality is our current path is not sustainable and reductions reluctantly became the only option. While we continue to look for ways to mitigate rising costs, we will roll up our sleeves and enhance our efforts to better educate our community about the importance of ticket sales and philanthropy.”

In its review, the university considered program costs, athletic facilities, Title IX, geographic location and a comparison of sports sponsored by Mid-American Conference schools.

An FAQ about the decision is available here.

UB will give all affected student-athletes permission to contact any other schools for purposes of transfer. Also, the university will release any national letter of intent signee who decides to pursue other intercollegiate athletic opportunities.

The university will honor all national letters of intent and scholarships of affected student-athletes who want to continue their studies at UB and who remain eligible in accordance with university and athletics department policies.

After the reduction, the UB athletics department will be composed of these 16 sports: football, softball, women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, wrestling, women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, women's soccer and men’s and women’s track and field (indoor and outdoor).

UB student-athletes have surpassed the 3.0 combined GPA mark for 10 straight semesters. UB has won five conference championships and one national championship over the past four years.

Maintaining high academic standards, providing students with an excellent athletic experience and competing for conference championships remain the primary goals of the UB athletics department, Greene said.

 “The University at Buffalo is committed to Division I athletics and remaining competitive in the Mid-American Conference,” Tripathi said.

READER COMMENTS

Can you please explain what exactly do you mean by "We will work very hard to provide the athletes and coaches with the support they need?" How are you going to quantify that UB worked very hard to help those affected?

 

Anish Antony

I am also for Division I athletics, however when it comes to football, it is a "cash-draining cow." UB will never get the community (fans) and student support required to fill the seats (generate revenue) in any football stadium. The reality for UB is Give UP Football!! By the way, I love college football. I live in the USC, UCLA area; our daughter graduated from the University of Arizona.

 

Maris Janson

I support the decision to cut the number of UB teams from 20 to 16. UB needs to save money so that it can afford to support the university's primary academic goals such as research and teaching. From what I heard, the university is going to save around $2 million by getting rid of these four teams.

 

Brian McAvoy

Read this story with great interest. The West Coast Conference members eliminated football one by one over the years. Only the University of San Diego plays today. It's an easier way to balance Title IX compliance and fiscal impact for athletic departments, and invest more in other sports, like basketball, that can achieve more with less. Tough decisions.

 

Michael Johnson

Sounds like this decision was made thoughtfully. I hope all affected student-athletes choose to remain and study at UB. As an alumna, I'm sure they will have the same satisfaction and success as I have had.

 

Lauren Clifford

I fully understand the money-saving motive UB is going for by cutting sports teams; however I believe the wrong teams were cut.

 

The football team should no longer be supported by UB Athletics and already has no support from the students/Buffalo region. The MAC conference forces UB to keep the football team in order to compete, which is a shame.

 

I would've loved to see UB drop football and put the money toward sports like basketball and soccer.

 

Joshua Grazen  

UB was heartless in the timing of this decision. If they had informed these athletes earlier in the season, many could have reached out to other universities in order to continue their athletic careers.

 

Shame on the president for his supposed "support." True support would have been to give adequate notice to these athletes instead of leaving them heartbroken.

 

The negative impact this will have on the university will last for years.

 

Susan Butler