ATHENS, Ohio, January 25. IN another of those long list of closed-door "solutions" to issues that face some collegiate athletics programs, Ohio University will announce a cut of three sports, including men's swimming, at a press conference scheduled for 10:30 a.m., today, according to The Post Online.
According to the news article written by Justin Thompson and Katie Carrera, the athletic department has been allegedly planning this move for four years, even though the university is well within compliance of Title IX.
Based on comments from student-athletes told of the decision last night, the director of athletics Kirby Hocutt stated that the decision was made because of financial issues within the department and Title IX.
According to reports, the athletics department is currently more than $4 million in the red, while the total operating costs of the men's swimming, lacrosse and track and field teams being dropped equaled $223,854 for the 2005-06 season.
Similar to the fights continuing at Rutgers and James Madison, we will keep our readers posted throughout this new battle.