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LOCK HAVEN -- No decisions have been made yet, but three athletics programs at Lock Haven University may eventually be dropped from the roster of offerings.
Under discussion for possible elimination are the men's track and field indoor, the men's track and field outdoor, and the women's swimming teams.
According to Dr. Michael Fiorentino Jr., university president, "As part of our general operations annually we have to review all programs we offer our students and the costs of those programs."
LHU has a total of 18 athletics programs, and every sport is part of that review, said Rodney Jenkins, LHU vice president for university relations.
With shrinking financial resources, and a shrinking number of students paying fees, the university is among the institutions of higher education that are currently "taking a fine-tooth comb" to their athletic offerings, he said.
"We don't have the financial capacity to continue at the same level," Jenkins said. "We have cut everything possible from athletics I can cut, other than people and programs."
About 70 percent of the cost of athletics is funded by students, through Student Auxiliary Services (SAS). But there is a direct correlation between the total number of students enrolled and the total dollars that SAS can collect in fees.
The choice, Fiorentino said, is to keep offering everything and watch the student experience diminish, or decrease the number of programs offered.
Title IX also must be followed. Under the federal Title IX requirements, the university must offer an equal opportunity to play sports to both men and women or lose federal funding. The chance to play athletics must reflect the ratio of women to men in the full-time undergraduate student population.
Right now, women are in the majority at LHU, Jenkins said.
The university administration sent a proposal to the coaches union on Jan. 23, Jenkins said, that includes the potential elimination of the three teams.
The coaches have 30 days to respond, as granted in the union's collective bargaining agreement, Jenkins said. In this case, they have until Feb. 23 to come back with a viable counter-proposal that fits with the financial situation and with Title IX requirements.
Jenkins said the university is in compliance with Title IX right now and must stay that way. It's about the numbers of participants, he said -- the numbers must be in line with the student population. It is likely that the athletes on both track and field teams are the same students, for the most part, but Title IX counts them separately for each sport, Jenkins said.
There is a groundswell of opinion expressed by alumni, friends of the university, and others that sacrificing certain sports may preserve the quality of the experience for some students but will definitely close doors and keep out others. If a particular sport is not offered, all the students who want to play it cannot be expected to turn to another sport.
Student athletes don't seem to be very vocal about the proposed changes, but that does not mean they don't have opinions. The university has historically had a policy saying student athletes should not speak to any media without going through the sports information office, Jenkins said. Last calendar year, the new athletics director started requesting the coaches have their team members sign a media responsibility form, and that practice continues into 2017, he said.