[82lsju]

That sux! I never thought I'd see the day when Stanford eliminates a bunch of programs at the same time, especially one that is competitive and wins championships, such as men's volleyball.

A very sad day. What is the backstory on this, and did the Varsity Blues scandal play any role?

from the posting

Due to the escalating costs of operating such a large athletics department, a structural deficit emerged several years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. That deficit was projected to exceed $12 million in FY21 and to grow steadily in the years ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated recession have only exacerbated the gap; before these sport reductions, our revised forecasts indicated a best-case scenario of a $25 million deficit in FY21, factoring in the effects of COVID-19, and a cumulative shortfall of nearly $70 million over the next three years. These projected deficits could become much greater if the 2020-21 sports seasons are suspended or altered due to COVID-19.
...
We have investigated a wide variety of alternatives – ticket sales, broadcast revenue, university funding, philanthropic support, operating budget reductions and many others – and found them insufficient to meet the magnitude of the financial challenge before us. While Stanford may be perceived to have limitless resources, the truth is that we do not. In general, Athletics has been a self-sustaining entity on our campus, and we are striving to preserve that model in a time when budgetary support for our academic mission is already under significant stress.
...
We have calculated that the total incremental funding needed to permanently sustain these 11 sports at a nationally competitive varsity level exceeds $200 million.

Why these 11 sports?
These 11 sports were decided upon after a comprehensive evaluation of all of our sports across a broad set of criteria and considerations, including, but not limited to:

• 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
  

For example, simply looking at sponsorship of the sports at a national level as one consideration:

• Of the 11 sports being discontinued, six (lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming) are not NCAA-sponsored championship sports.
  

• All 11 sports being discontinued are sponsored by less than 22% of the more than 350 Division I institutions, and nine (men’s and women’s fencing, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball) are sponsored by less than 9%.
  

• There are only two other Division I field hockey programs on the West Coast, and there are no other fencing, lightweight rowing, sailing, squash or synchronized swimming programs on the West Coast.
  

Many of these sports currently compete without a full complement of scholarships (e.g. wrestling), coaches and resources. After careful analysis, we concluded there was no realistic path to ensuring that they have all of the resources needed to compete at the highest level without hindering our ability to support our other 25 varsity sports.

https://news.stanford.edu/2020/07/08/ath...ampaign=an

[82lsju]

That sux! I never thought I'd see the day when Stanford eliminates a bunch of programs at the same time, especially one that is competitive and wins championships, such as men's volleyball.

A very sad day. What is the backstory on this, and did the Varsity Blues scandal play any role?

from the posting

Due to the escalating costs of operating such a large athletics department, a structural deficit emerged several years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. That deficit was projected to exceed $12 million in FY21 and to grow steadily in the years ahead. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated recession have only exacerbated the gap; before these sport reductions, our revised forecasts indicated a best-case scenario of a $25 million deficit in FY21, factoring in the effects of COVID-19, and a cumulative shortfall of nearly $70 million over the next three years. These projected deficits could become much greater if the 2020-21 sports seasons are suspended or altered due to COVID-19.
...
We have investigated a wide variety of alternatives – ticket sales, broadcast revenue, university funding, philanthropic support, operating budget reductions and many others – and found them insufficient to meet the magnitude of the financial challenge before us. While Stanford may be perceived to have limitless resources, the truth is that we do not. In general, Athletics has been a self-sustaining entity on our campus, and we are striving to preserve that model in a time when budgetary support for our academic mission is already under significant stress.
...
We have calculated that the total incremental funding needed to permanently sustain these 11 sports at a nationally competitive varsity level exceeds $200 million.

Why these 11 sports?
These 11 sports were decided upon after a comprehensive evaluation of all of our sports across a broad set of criteria and considerations, including, but not limited to:

• 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
  

For example, simply looking at sponsorship of the sports at a national level as one consideration:

• Of the 11 sports being discontinued, six (lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming) are not NCAA-sponsored championship sports.
  

• All 11 sports being discontinued are sponsored by less than 22% of the more than 350 Division I institutions, and nine (men’s and women’s fencing, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball) are sponsored by less than 9%.
  

• There are only two other Division I field hockey programs on the West Coast, and there are no other fencing, lightweight rowing, sailing, squash or synchronized swimming programs on the West Coast.
  

Many of these sports currently compete without a full complement of scholarships (e.g. wrestling), coaches and resources. After careful analysis, we concluded there was no realistic path to ensuring that they have all of the resources needed to compete at the highest level without hindering our ability to support our other 25 varsity sports.

https://news.stanford.edu/2020/07/08/ath...ampaign=an