Univ. of Maryland AD Kevin Anderson yesterday announced that seven athletic programs "were unable to raise the necessary money for survival," according to Mark Giannotto of the WASHINGTON POST. Men's and women's swimming; men's tennis; women's water polo; acrobatics and tumbling (formerly known as competitive cheer); men's cross-country and men's indoor track and field "were eliminated." One team that "faced the chopping block -- men's outdoor track and field -- has been saved for the time being after a successful fundraising campaign." The program raised "approximately $888,000 and will field a team next season, but still must collect $1.88 million by Dec. 31 to ensure the program's survival" for '13-14. For the program's "permanent continuation, the men's track team must raise $3.76 million by Dec. 31, 2013." The men's track team will have "just 14 members next season, 13 fewer than this past season." Maryland had previously announced that it will "continue to honor the scholarships for all varsity athletes and the contracts for coaches of the eliminated teams." Anderson said that as a result, "eliminating the budget deficit will be an 'incremental' process." However, Anderson said there is a strategic plan in place that would allow Maryland to balance its $57.7M budget by '15 "if we can keep to the plan and generate the revenue we're projecting and keep the costs where we are now." Maryland athletics "faces such a dire financial situation largely because of declining revenue from its football and men's basketball programs" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/3). In Baltimore, Jeff Barker notes "The M Club, an organization of former Terps athletes, pitched in $175,000" to the men's outdoor track team. Men's cross country and indoor track "are among the team's being discontinued, although some of their members may be able to stay in the program on outdoor track." All the teams were "given the chance to raise funds for their survival," but the goals "were steep" (Baltimore SUN, 7/3).
