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LOCK HAVEN -- Lock Haven University President Dr. Michael Fiorentino said he will maintain the men's outdoor track and field and women's Division I field hockey programs, but the men's indoor track program must go.
The much-anticipated announcement was made in a prepared statement released Thursday afternoon.
Facing a significant budget deficit due to flat to declining state subsidies over the past six to eight years, exacerbated by falling enrollment the last four years, Fiorentino said he is faced with cutting more costs even as significant adjustments already have occurred.
Here is Fiorentino's statement is in its entirety:
"I write to you today to share my decision on the athletic realignment proposals. This information has been shared at the Coaches Meet & Discuss, with the coaches, and the student athletes. There were many factors considered in this process:
r Proposals presented from athletic administrators, faculty, coaches, and students.
r Numerous meetings with student representatives.
r Communications from alums, parents, and the community.
r Careful consideration of Title IX and financial implications.
"Taking all of these considerations as a whole, and I did in fact weigh all of the input received, it is my professional judgment that it is in the best interest of the University to discontinue the Men's Indoor Track and Field team at Lock Haven University effective the conclusion of the spring 2017 semester. Men's Outdoor Track and Field and the Women's Field Hockey Division I status will not change. However, we will continue to review budgetary and Title IX considerations as it relates to athletics in the coming year. I respect the passion of our coaches and student-athletes. This decision, as has been the case with all decisions to reduce or change offerings at our university, was extremely difficult. This decision in no way reflects or diminishes the contributions of coaches, students, and alumni whose dedication on and off the field represent the best of LHU."
Coaches, students, alumni and supporters launched a #SaveHaven campaign on Twitter to try to prevent any cuts, and a rally attracting more than 250 people was held Tuesday on campus. Over the past months, coaches, student athletes, faculty members and administrators have discussed this two-edged sword of enrollment and dollars.
The men's track and field teams have one of the highest grade averages of teams on campus. They have the most alumni of any sport -- more than 13,000 -- and they also have a fine record in competitions. The men's indoor track and field team finished its season -- and possibly its entire history here -- at an impressive fourth in the final NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings.
The coaches union does not support cutting sports, nor does the faculty union.
The coaches union brought forward a counter-proposal, titled "Points for Consideration," on Feb. 23.
"The passion for Lock Haven University, our campus community, and athletics that everyone shared was inspiring," Track Coach Aaron M. Russell wrote in his introduction to the document. He is president of the coaches union and also head coach of six teams -- the men's and women's track and field and cross country teams.
Russell said the LHU men's indoor team has competed in every PSAC championship for the sport -- 16 championships over the years -- and has won five of them.
For comparison purposes, LHU has 18 sport programs with 538 participants. Bloomsburg University has 20 with 516 participants. Millersville has 19 with 448 participants. Slippery Rock has 17 with 535 participants.
Both the indoor and outdoor teams involve basically the same students. Under Title IX, they are not counted as individuals but rather as two separate rosters. Cutting both teams would affect the same students but would have the same impact as cutting twice as many students because each athlete that competes on both teams is "counted" twice.
LHU wrestling is in Division I, but it brings in enough funding to continue in that division, he added.
So even without considering the equal opportunity requirements, the financial picture is not good.
The athletics department has lost about $304,000 in total funding since 2012.
LHU does not expect to see much growth in student numbers in the next four years, and apparently, that loss is not going to be made up any time soon.
Looking at the years from 2005 to 2016, student enrollment was on the rise until 2011. Since then it has steadily decreased. LHU has lost an estimated 20.1 percent of enrollment since 2005. The university's general fund saw a 5 percent decrease in revenue from the 2011-12 academic year to the 2012-13 year, and departments had to face up to cuts, Jenkins said. Athletics, however, did not, since there were still adequate revenues from student fees.
The university continued to see revenue decreases. For the 2015-16 year, departments were told to cut 10 percent, but athletics had to cut by only 1 percent.
This year, though, athletics has been faced with a loss of student funding and has had to tighten belts. Cost-saving measures and increases in fundraising have been implemented already.