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College News: University of Iowa Cuts Four Sports, Softball Spared

The University of Iowa has cut four sports including men’s and women’s swimming and diving, effective at the end of the year. Photo: Univ. of Iowa Athletics.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating effect on college sports.

After shaving $15 million from its athletic budget in June, with administrators and coaches taking temporary pay cuts, and the announcement last week that the Big Ten would postpone fall sports, the Iowa athletic department announced today that it would be cutting men’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming and diving and men’s tennis at the end of the 2021-2021 academic year.

In an open letter posted on the Hawkeye’s official athletics website, Iowa President and Bruce Harreld and Athletic Director Gary Barta explained the decision (complete text of the post below)

The move will reduce the Big Ten school’s men’s sports from 10 to 7 and the women’s from 12 to 11.

Overall 76 sports are now being eliminated at the DI level as noted by sports journalist Ross Dellenger:

Other schools like Stanford have made major cuts and more are expected as the financial impact of the Coronavirus continues to be felt.

More directly involving softball, the MAC announced in May that it would be eliminating spring championships, including those in softball, for “at least four years” and in June Wright State became the first college program to cut softball.

Click HERE to see by sport which universities have eliminated programs.

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Here is the announcement from Iowa explaining today’s move.

Open letter to the University of Iowa and Hawkeye Athletics

Published on Friday, August 21, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a financial exigency which threatens our continued ability to adequately support 24 intercollegiate athletics programs at the desired championship level.  With the Big Ten Conference’s postponement of fall competition on August 11, UI Athletics now projects lost revenue of approximately $100M and an overall deficit between $60-75M this fiscal year.  A loss of this magnitude will take years to overcome.  We have a plan to recover, but the journey will be challenging.

Gary Barta has been the Iowa AD since 2006.

In that context, we are writing today with some extremely difficult news. In consultation with the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, we have made the decision to discontinue four of our varsity sports programs at the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year: men’s gymnastics, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis. Each of these teams will have the opportunity to compete in their upcoming 2020-21 seasons, should the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 permit, before they are discontinued at the varsity level.

We are heartbroken for our student-athletes, coaches and staff.  We also understand how disappointing this is for our letterwinners, alumni, donors and community members who have helped build these programs.

We are committed to support and care for the impacted student-athletes, coaches and staff throughout the transition period.  All existing scholarships will be honored through graduation for those student-athletes who choose to remain at Iowa.  If a student-athlete wishes to transfer to another institution, we will assist them in every way possible.  In addition, we will continue to provide academic and mental health support as requested.  The contracts of affected coaches will be honored.

We have been open and transparent with staff regarding our financial challenges and those facing intercollegiate athletic departments across the country.

We carefully and thoroughly reviewed all financial options and each of our programs individually. We considered, in part, sponsorship at the NCAA Division I level, impact on gender equity and Title IX compliance, expense savings, history of the sport at Iowa, engagement level, and other factors. With the recent postponement of fall sports and immediate financial impact due to this decision, we believe this path is necessary to strengthen athletics and position our programs for future success with the resources we have.

Over the past few months, several budget cuts including reductions in compensation, operations and position eliminations have been, and continue to be, implemented. While the impact of these savings reduces our expenses, a significant deficit remains.  We are working to secure financing to cover the shortfall that provides a repayment plan that allows continued success for our remaining sports.

The UI has faced many challenges in its history. We are confident these changes, while difficult, create a path forward for Iowa Athletics to remain self-sufficient and allow our remaining programs the opportunity for sustained excellence and fiscal stability.

Sincerely,

Bruce Harreld, President
Gary Barta, Director of Athletics

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