Updated Message from UW-La Crosse Chancellor Gow Regarding Baseball and Men's Tennis

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - 1:05 p.m.

La Crosse, Wis. – The following is an updated message from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow regarding the Eagles' baseball and men's tennis programs:

As you know, the State¹s extraordinary budget reductions to UW-L have forced us to make a wide range of difficult cuts, including ending our baseball and men¹s tennis programs. We had planned today to formally notify the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association (WIAC) about the elimination of these two programs; however, at the request of numerous alumni, parents and friends of the University we are delaying notifying WIAC officials about our plans so that our coaches and potential donors can determine whether it is feasible for these two sports to be supported entirely through private funding for the coming year, and possibly on into the future. We have indicated that we can wait until September 1st to learn the donors¹ intentions for the coming 2009-2010 season, because at that point the baseball and men¹s tennis coaches will need to have contracts and begin being compensated for their work.

Although fundraising for sports activities at UW-L is a longstanding tradition, we have never thought it possible or desirable to fund an entire program or programs through private donations. However, in light of the unique situation we're currently facing, we don¹t want to deny the coaches and the many enthusiastic supporters of our baseball and men¹s tennis teams the opportunity to see what might be possible. Our athletic department has determined that, based on last year¹s budgets and input from the coaches overseeing them, maintaining baseball for the coming 2009-2010 season will require $50,000 and continuing men¹s tennis for another year will require $40,000. As I¹ve said, these funds will need to be in hand by September 1st.

Provided adequate monies can be raised to fund the two programs for 2009-2010, donors then will need to make more challenging decisions about whether they are able to sustain baseball and men¹s tennis over the long term. Based on discussions with our coaches and athletic department leadership, we have determined that five years of advance funding will need to be raised before we can tell potential UW-L students these programs are stable. Because privately funded programs will not draw the student fees they now receive (a decision approved by our coaches and athletic department leadership), the annual costs of baseball and men¹s tennis will rise over the 2010-2015 period; thus several hundred thousand dollars will need to be raised to sustain each program for these five years. And these large funding pools would need to be raised by May 1, 2010 so that coaches, players and prospective recruits could have a realistic sense of the viability of the baseball and men¹s tennis programs beyond the 2009-2010 season and be able to make informed decisions about their future personal plans.

In the days since we made the very painful announcement that UW-L is no longer able to maintain financial support for baseball and men¹s tennis Athletic Director Joe Baker and I have been struck by the outpouring of concern we¹ve received via e-mail messages, telephone calls and personal conversations. But our current budget crisis gives us no choice but to ask for sacrifices from our athletic department, just as we have asked for sacrifices from every other area of the University. So it is very heartening to see so many members of the UW-L community come forward to offer their very generous support to keep Eagle baseball and men¹s tennis alive. To be honest, I¹m not sure whether this is feasible over the long term; but the messages I¹ve received this week suggest that it is entirely possible to sustain these programs for an additional year with private funds. Toward that end I am personally donating $1,000 to be divided between the baseball and men¹s tennis fundraising efforts for 2009-2010. While this is but a small contribution, I hope it inspires others to think about making similar gifts in support of these extraordinary campaigns. Should you wish to make your own donation please contact Pat Stephens at the L Club/UW-L Foundation (785-8153 or stephens.patr@uwlax.edu) and ask about the funds established by Baseball Coach Chris Schwarz and Men¹s Tennis Coach Bill Hehli.

I look forward to providing you with an update about baseball and men¹s tennis once we hear the results of the fundraising now being done in support of them. As I¹ve indicated, we¹ll know definitive information about the coming season by September 1st. In the meantime, thanks for your patience and continuing dedication to UW-L.