Athletes react to budget scare
The budget committee is scream
ing, “Cut! Cut! Cut!” and the athletes
involved are crying, "Help! Help!
Help!”
That is the situation as the Oregon
athletic department is forced to chop
$375,000 from the budget in accor
dance with directives from the
University president's office. And the
answer to the order might be to drop
four programs — two men’s and two
women's teams.
Responses trom athletes to the
possible loss of their programs range
from pleads for help to feelings of
despair to outright indignation.
Mike Talia, a senior on the baseball
team, expressed a feeling felt by ath
letes contacted by the Emerald.
“What a waste it would be,” Talia
said. “I’m very disappointed that we
will lose any programs. There isn’t
really too much we can do but sit back
and wait.”
r
Alice Marchant, a freshman on the
softball team, felt the same way.
“I hate to see them drop the pro
grams, because it would be such a
loss. I can understand why because of
the budqet problems, but I still don't
like it.”
Mike Erb, a sophomore on the
wrestling, was more demonstrative. “I
feel horrible about it! I hate to have it
happen. I know a lot of athletes in the
other sports and I hate to see any of
their programs get cut.
Sharing in Erb's outrage was Mike
Black, a senior on the baseball team.
‘‘I just can’t see them dropping
anything. It would be a unneeded
waste, a big loss.
"It would not only hurt the athletes,
but it would also be a bad reflection on
all of Oregon’s programs. To be com
petitive in athletics nationwide, you
have to have all of your major sports.
Without a sport like baseball or wres
tling, it’s just not the same."
1
Mike Erb — "/ fee/ horrible about it! I know a lot of athletes in the other sports and
I hate to see any of their programs get cut."
Eric Deeg, a freshman baseball
player, agreed with Black, but thought
the loss of programs would have a
more far-flung effect.
“Not only would the students lose
out, but I think the fans in the com
munity would feel sold out and un
happy, too,” Deeg said. “To lose a
sport like baseball would be a huge
loss. It’s part of America!”
Some athletes feel the answer to
the budget dilemma may lie in a re
evaluation of which sports to empha
size in the Oregon athletic hierarchy.
Andrew Hanson, a sophmore on the
golf team: “I'm a big fan of football
and I realize my sport may not be
where it is if it weren't for the money
that football brings in, but I still don’t
like seeing it and basketball get bigger
and bigger at the expense of the other
sports.
“It just doesn't seem fair.”
Some athletes were in favor of
dropping their sport to a club level just
so it will continue to exist.
”1 played on the club level last
year,” said soccer player Michelle
Potestio. “There is not much differ
ence in my sport as far as competiton
goes, but you lack all the benefits of
scholarships and such. On either
level, you still get the best benefit of
all, and that's being able to compete.”
The majority of athletes contacted
were against this, though, and would
rather transfer to another school than
compete on the club level.
“To put us on the club level would
ruin us,” Erb said. “The only way to
improve in sports is to go against the
best around You need this if you are
ever going to get any better. And isn’t
Michele Potestio — "On either (club or
intercollegiate) level, you still get the
best benefit of all, and that's being
able to compete."
that what you are trying to do in
sports?”
The problems involved with drop
ping the sport programs are immense.
But the athlete is basically helpless at
this stage of the game.
“There is nothing I can do about it"
said gymnast Randy JeRSon. “I just
have to be concerned with my season
now. Sure, it’s always in the back of
our minds, but we just have to keep on
performing. There's not much else we
can do.”
Story by Mike Riplinger
Emerald photos
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Sally Simpson
Ed Spinney
Sharon Bell
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