Sport programs cut include football, softball and water polo
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- Colorado College has announced it will eliminate three varsity sports due to budget cuts.
The decision was announced Tuesday.
It comes in response to a mandate from the college's board of trustees to reduce spending by $8 to $12 million by the next fiscal year.
The varsity sports being cut include football, softball and water polo. In total 76 athletes and 16 staff members will be affected.
"The college is actually very healthy, but we have seen a significant drop in endowment. We have seen it drop from $540 million to a little over $360 million," athletic director Ken Ralph said.
Ralph said the department will save between 12 and 13 percent overall by cutting the sports. He said no scholarships will be affected.
"These sports are all Division III sports, and by Division III rules there is no athletic aid provided," Ralph said.
Ralph said the college is working with its student athletes to help them weather the storm and added some may choose to leave in lieu of the cuts. He said they are also helping their coaches.
"The college has gone above and beyond in terms of being able to provide some resources for these coaches to be able to continue on, as well as being very fair with compensation," Ralph said.
He says football, softball and water polo were eliminated after careful consideration and hours of research.
"The reality hit that we could not do an across-the-board cut without hurting every sport, so it became necessary to look at vertical cuts," Ralph said
He said water polo and softball will finish out their current seasons.
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