Somehow it flew under our radar last fall that Minnesota State University Mankato was planning on cutting four sports: men's swimming/diving, women's bowling, and men's and women's tennis.
But they indeed were. And then the student-athletes and their supporters started a campaign to save their sports for at least three years by increasing student fees. The students voted on the non-binding referendum earlier this week. And it passed.
But the university president has opted to go forth with the cuts anyway--with one exception: women's tennis which is being kept for conference affiliation reasons.
Several years ago, I noted that Mankato had been considering cutting sports but opted instead to manage their rosters better and add a women's sport. They believed, at the time, that this would actually save money in the long run. It was a nice idea, but apparently it didn't work out. And the sport that was added--women's bowling--is now being cut.
No explanation from the president on why he chose not to follow the student vote. Title IX does not seem to be a factor in the cuts. Mankato remains in compliance with prong one.
Showing posts with label Minnesota State Mankato. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Minnesota State Mankato. Show all posts
Friday, April 22, 2011
Monday, March 19, 2007
"A different approach"
This article about the athletic department at Minnesota State Mankato illustrates that Title IX compliance doesn't always mean cutting sports.
In fact administrators at Mankato, who thought about cutting some men's minor sports to compensate for the growing roster sizes, figured that it could possibly cost them more to cut these sports in the long run as compared to the short-term savings.
Says Athletic Director Kevin Buisman:
"Ultimately, it was determined it would do more harm than good. We felt like we would alienate alumni, and when we looked at the cost savings versus the damage that would be done with our donors, we decided to take a different approach."
So the university added bowling and increased the rosters in other women's sports. The university gave them $500,000 to implement the changes.
And if you continue to read the article you will see that both the men's and women's programs at this DII school are doing very well since the decision.
In fact administrators at Mankato, who thought about cutting some men's minor sports to compensate for the growing roster sizes, figured that it could possibly cost them more to cut these sports in the long run as compared to the short-term savings.
Says Athletic Director Kevin Buisman:
"Ultimately, it was determined it would do more harm than good. We felt like we would alienate alumni, and when we looked at the cost savings versus the damage that would be done with our donors, we decided to take a different approach."
So the university added bowling and increased the rosters in other women's sports. The university gave them $500,000 to implement the changes.
And if you continue to read the article you will see that both the men's and women's programs at this DII school are doing very well since the decision.
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