DIVISION I-A SPORTS CONTINUE, BUT ON SMALLER SCALE
December 9, 2005
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| Crowded by the microphones of sports reporters, Douglas Hertz answers questions about changes in Tulane athletics programs. Hertz is chair of the intercollegiate athletics committee of the Tulane Board of Administrators. |
The number of intercollegiate sports played at Tulane University will be cut in half as part of a broad renewal plan unveiled today for the institution, but the Green Wave will continue in NCAA Division I competition in football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball and women’s track and field and cross country.
In making the decision, the Board of Administrators suspended seven programs in eight NCAA sports, affecting about 103 student-athletes. Programs suspended are men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s tennis, women’s swimming and diving, women’s soccer and men’s track and field and cross country.
Tulane will honor athletics scholarships for all eligible student-athletes in suspended programs and assist those who wish to transfer.
The decision was difficult because Tulane’s student-athletes are “a model of what Tulane University is all about,” said Tulane board member Douglas J. Hertz. “But it was a matter of trying to figure out what we could do to not put a financial burden on the university, because we were having to make so many other decisions regarding academics.” Hertz, a Tulane alumnus, is chair of the Tulane board’s intercollegiate athletics committee.
The NCAA and Conference USA, of which Tulane is a founding member, require schools to compete in a minimum of 16 sports to have a Division I-A program. Because of financial issues caused by Hurricane Katrina, however, the NCAA has assured the university of its support in securing a five-year exemption from meeting those criteria.
In addition, Hertz said, Conference USA will continue to provide Tulane with a full share of conference revenues, which this year could mean as much as $2 million. “We’re very appreciative of getting those conference proceeds,” he added. “It means a lot to us. It gives us a base to build on.”
The five-year waiver “gives us flexibility in the short term, to see how the city comes back,” Hertz said.
Yvette Jones, senior vice president for external affairs, said, “Clearly this was the right financial decision given the conference payout, and the assurances from the NCAA and our conference that they would help us in getting waivers that we would need to maintain our Division I status with fewer sports.
“A lot of us felt that continuing some level of intercollegiate athletics was important to the city of New Orleans,” she added. “We felt this would be an important thing to provide to the community and to our students.”
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