Stanford Athletics Will Cut 11 Varsity Sports Following 2020-21 Season
Jul 8, 2020, 11:35 AM
Hoover Tower looms during a quiet morning at Stanford University on March 9, 2020 in Stanford, California. Stanford University announced that classes will be held online for the remainder of the winter quarter after a staff member working in a clinic tested positive for the Coronavirus. (Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images)
(Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images)
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Stanford University announced on Wednesday that they will cut 11 varsity sports after the 2020-21 academic year.
In a letter sent out by Stanford Athletics, they stated that they offered more varsity sports than nearly every other Division 1 university in the country.
Currently, Stanford has 36 varsity sports that they offer to student-athletes.
Stanford University announced Wednesday the reduction of varsity athletics programs and staffing. https://t.co/hvZWxzEMRM
— Stanford Athletics (@GoStanford) July 8, 2020
They announced that the athletic department will discontinue men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball and wrestling.
With the elimination of the 11 sports after this upcoming year, 20 members of Stanford’s support staff will have their jobs eliminated.
In the letter, Stanford stated why those 11 sports will be discontinued. They listed the following reasons:
- Sponsorship of the sport at the NCAA Division I level
- National youth and postgraduate participation in the sport
- Local and national fan interest in the sport
- Potential expense savings from the elimination of the sport
- Incremental investments required to keep or put the sport in a position to achieve competitive excellence on the national level
- History of the sport at Stanford
- Prospects for future success of the sport at Stanford
- Impact on gender equity and Title IX compliance
- Impact on the diversity of our student-athlete population
- Impact on the student-athlete experience across all sports, now and in the future
Trevor Allen is a Utah Utes Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Crimson Corner podcast. Follow him on Twitter: @TrevorASports. You can download and listen to the podcast, here.
