The uncertain economic future of the Univ. of Arizona has “damaged the school’s brand and reputation,” but eliminating sports for the first time in 43 years “isn’t going to fix the big financial issues,” according to Greg Hansen of the ARIZONA DAILY STAR. UA is facing a $240M shortfall and that “miscalculation” has created mentions of eliminating certain sports. Hansen noted the two sports that “seem most vulnerable” are men’s track/cross country and men’s swimming because they “have the most athletes.” But those numbers are “misleading” as eliminating those sports “would only save about” $3.5M per year. Eliminating non-revenue sports “doesn’t seem to be the answer” either as men’s golf and men’s tennis only have 4.5 scholarships. Baseball is the “largest financial loser” among Arizona’s men’s sports, at “roughly” $2.5M per year. But Hansen noted baseball at the UA is “untouchable,” as its the school’s “most historically successful and traditional sport of the last 100 years.” Hansen wrote “cutting baseball (or swimming or track) isn’t going to make a dent in [UA President Robert] Robbins’ $240 million campus-wide situation” (ARIZONA DAILY STAR, 11/26).
