The commission "charged with tackling the multimillion dollar deficit in University of Maryland athletics has recommended that the school drop eight of its 27 varsity teams to remedy the shortfall," according to Liz Clarke of the WASHINGTON POST. The teams "targeted for elimination are all three men’s track teams (indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, cross-country); men’s swimming and diving; women’s swimming and diving; men’s tennis; women’s water polo; and aerobics and tumbling (formerly known as competitive cheer)." The panel also "calls for a 10 percent reduction in athletic administration costs and a revamped fundraising effort, noting that since 2006 Maryland’s revenue from football, men’s basketball and fundraising has steadily declined." UM President Wallace Loh initially said that he "would make his decision by Dec. 31, but he's now expected to accelerate that timetable." All of UM’s 27 varsity teams "will compete through the 2011-12 academic year," and any cuts "would take effect July 1, 2012" (WASHINGTON POST, 11/15). The 17-member commission suggested that UM "has had to spread itself thin with so many teams -- five more than the average" for the ACC's public universities. It said that UM "invests $67,389 per athlete, which ranks it 13th out of 14 schools in the newly reconfigured ACC, and that conference-leading Florida State spends $118,813" (Baltimore SUN, 11/15). The commission recommended that all scholarships to current athletes in those sports targeted for elimination "be honored through graduation and for coaches affected by any potential cuts have their contracts upheld" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 11/15).
