University of California at Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced today that the university will eliminate its baseball team and three other varsity sports teams in a move aimed at saving $4 million a year.
The other sports being cut are men’s and women’s gymnastics and women’s lacrosse.
In addition, the men’s rugby team will be reassigned to “varsity club” status.
In a letter to the campus community, Birgeneau said he decided to make the cuts because “the costs of delivering our Intercollegiate Athletics program have been rising dramatically, requiring growing financial support from the campus budget that now exceeds $12 million annually.”
“This is not sustainable for our campus in a time of drastic state budget cuts to the university that are affecting all of our faculty, staff and students,” he said.
Jeff Shuttleworth, Bay City News
