Campus Message from AD Larry Williams

Dear members of the UA community,

As President Miller mentioned in his email earlier today, we have some news to share regarding the impact of the budget reductions on our athletics programs.

We are announcing an extremely difficult decision – the elimination of three sports from our intercollegiate athletic program at the end of this academic year.

Based on my recommendation, affected by the decision are men's golf, women's tennis and men's cross country.

The elimination of these sports, along with salary reductions for select coaches, staff position eliminations, scholarship and operating reductions will total approximately $4.4 million.

We are very saddened that we have had to make this move, but it is important and necessary at this time. This action aligns us with our Mid-American Conference peers in total number of sports and is part of our ongoing effort to realign University resources to ensure that we continue to invest in high-demand, high-quality academic programs and world-class facilities.

This morning, I met via video conference with the student-athletes affected by the decision. We understand that some may choose to leave Akron to continue in their sport at another university, and we have committed to offering them our full support throughout that process. We have wonderful student-athletes, coaches and athletics staff who make a tremendous contribution to campus life – in competition, in class and in our greater community. This is a difficult day for all of them, and for all of us.

For additional details about the decision, please see the news release.

Sincerely,

Larry Williams
Director of Athletics
The University of Akron

The University of Akron Athletics

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