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Thursday
November 12, 2009
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Univ. Of New Orleans Weighing Move From Division I To Division III

Budget Cuts, Lack Of Fundraising Efforts May
Force UNO To Move Down To Division III

The "combination of budget cuts, the failure to pass an increase in student fees and a lack of fundraising efforts has prompted" the Univ. of New Orleans (UNO) to "look into moving its athletic program from Division I down to Division III status," according to Larry Holder of the New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE. The announcement came yesterday, one day after UNO interim AD Michael Bujol told his staff that he was "immediately stepping down to take retirement after less than four months" on the job. UNO "will investigate the possible move to Division III for the next few months with the deadline to apply to the NCAA being May 15." Moving down to Division III "would mean UNO would not offer athletic scholarships and would completely alter the state of the program." UNO Chancellor Tim Ryan said that dropping athletics all together is "not a viable option." Ryan said that the decision to "look into shifting to Division III has taken place because of a lack of funding to properly maintain a Division I athletic program." Ryan indicated that UNO "will have a shortfall" of $1.3M this year within the athletic program, and he said that it is a "check the school can't cover." Ryan said that to "run a viable Division I program costs between" $6-7M annually. NCAA.org shows that the average total expenses during the '06-07 FY for a Division III school with a football program were nearly $2.5M, and $1.9M without football. Holder notes the NCAA "requires a multi-year process to move from Division I to Division III, and UNO is taking steps to have a better understanding of the requirements" (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 11/12).

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