St. Cloud State will eliminate men's and women's tennis, women's Nordic Skiing, men's cross country and men's indoor/outdoor track and field -- directly affecting 80 student-athletes out of a total of approximately 530 -- effective at the end of the 2015-16 academic year. However, wrestling -- along with baseball, football, and swimming & diving -- will take part in what the school described as "an extensive roster management program will be implemented to achieve Title IX compliance."
The St. Cloud Times reported the SCSU wrestling program will lose 14 roster spots, for a total of 38 roster spots in 2016-17. By comparison, the average Division II wrestling program has 33 on its roster, according to SCSU Athletics Director Heather Weems.
"The decision to eliminate programs better aligns St. Cloud State's sport portfolio with the athletics department's mission and vision while addressing budget shortfalls," according to a statement posted on the school's athletics website .
The statement went on to say that SCSU considered a number of criteria in its athletics review process, including the history and tradition of the programs, facilities availability and conditions, recent competitive success, investment needs, alumni engagement and financial support, regional participation/interest, and Title IX compliance.
"It should be really clear that the cuts that we are making are not because of Title IX," said SCSU President Earl H. Potter III. "They are being made because we have a $9 million budget hole to close in (fiscal year 2017), which we will do."
"This has been a very difficult process and decision," said Weems. "This decision impacts the lives of our students and coaches, and their connection with our community. That said, athletics expenses continue to increase across all sports each year, and we are not able to meet the financial and support expectations of our programs. These reductions will focus our long-term investments into the remaining programs to provide a stronger and more sustainable experience to our student-athletes as part of the university cost-containment requirement."
In explaining why some programs survived direct elimination but will still face roster cuts, Weems said, "Baseball, wrestling and swimming and diving have all demonstrated continued success in my tenure." (Weems became the school's AD in 2012.)
The school expects to save approximately $250,000 in fiscal year 2017, which amounts to about five percent of the athletics general fund allocation. The department anticipates a $500,000 shortfall this fiscal year.
"St. Cloud State, like other public universities across the state, is dealing with falling enrollment and nagging deficits," the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported. "SCSU enrollment stands at 15,461, down from 18,650 in the fall of 2010, a more dramatic drop than at many of its sister schools. It is currently battling a $6 million budget gap."
News of the athletic department cuts was presented to St. Cloud State coaches at a meeting with administrators at 7:45 a.m. last Wednesday; 200 to 300 student-athletes learned their fates barely 15 minutes later.
Wrestling coach Steve Costanzo, whose program brought St. Cloud its first national title in any sport, said it had been "rumored for a while" that his roster would be taking a hit. "The hardest part is the team is so close," said Costanzo.
SCSU wrestler Clayton Jennissen, who qualified to compete at this weekend's NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships, said he's trying to stay focused on the national meet, but greeted the news with a glass-half-full attitude. "It's better than getting cut, like some of the other teams," he said.
The St. Cloud State Huskies will attempt to defend their team title at the 2016 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships to be held this weekend at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Check out the inspirational story of Devon Berry, a multi-sport high school athlete in Georgia who has cerebral palsy, who has accepted a scholarship to wrestle at St. Cloud State this fall.
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