Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Media & Entertainment Law Blogs -> Sports Biz

Media & Entertainment Law

: Sports Biz

Stanford Considers Cutting Sports

As the economic recession continues, the effects are being felt throughout collegiate athletics. It is hitting large and small colleges alike. The impact may be greater on smaller schools with limited budgets that are ill equipped to absorb the substantial increases in travel and other costs together with a large decrease in revenue, but large athletic programs at Division I (excuse me, Bowl Subdivision) schools are feeling the pinch as well.

The latest and most telling example of that is the perennial Division I Directors Cup winner Stanford. Winner of the last fourteen Directors Cups, the Cardinal now finds themselves facing a $5 million loss in revenue over the next three years. The athletic department is cutting salaries and considering layoffs to meet the revenue deficit. Department officials are hopeful these measures will be sufficient to balance the budget, but dropping sports is on the table. Stanford currently fields 35 teams, 19 women's, 15 men's and one coed.

This is the first D-I school from a BCS conference that I have heard of to consider dropping any sport as a result of the current economy. There have been sports dropped recently but that has been directly related to Title IX compliance issues. This is far more dramatic and may be the canary in the coal mine alerting everyone involved in collegiate athletics that the era of free spending is over. If the arms race in facilities and coaches salaries was ever going to be brought under control, this should be the impetus needed to do it.

Full post as published by Sports Biz on January 21, 2009 (boomark / email).