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NCAA waiver request IDs sports to be discontinued

TRACK & FIELD UAA Media Relations

NCAA waiver request IDs sports to be discontinued

University of Alaska Anchorage Athletic Director Keith Hackett released the following statement to UAA Seawolves constituents Thursday regarding the U of A Strategic Pathways process and pending NCAA waiver:

Dear Friends, Fans and Supporters of Seawolf Athletics,
 
Over the past several months Seawolf Athletics has been a part of the Strategic Pathways Process along with several other units in the University of Alaska System. The process was designed to determine how our campus programs and departments would continue to function in light of the significant budget reductions that have occurred in the State of Alaska and the UA System.
 
Intercollegiate Athletics is no different than the many academic units and departments that must make changes and reductions that have been mandated by the UA System.
 
Seawolf Athletics will take a 20% reduction in budget beginning in the fall of 2017. That percentage equates to $1.9M dollars or a 36% reduction in General Fund allocations to Intercollegiate Athletics.
 
During the September Board of Regents meeting, President Johnsen asked for and received approval to pursue an NCAA Waiver of the NCAA DII Membership requirement to sponsor ten (10) teams to be a member of Division II. 
 
This waiver has been submitted to the NCAA for their consideration and we are waiting for their ruling. If the waiver is approved, UAA will have to reduce the number of teams we currently sponsor from 13 to 9 teams. If the waiver is not approved, President Johnsen has directed that UAA's Athletic Department reduce the number of teams sponsored to a maximum of ten (10) teams beginning in the fall of 2017 and to continue to look at other options to reduce spending in Athletics.
 
The decision-making process in determining which teams would be suspended has been most difficult and challenging for all involved. This is the most difficult decision I have had to make as a professional and a person who is passionate about College Athletics and the Student-Athletes we work with.
 
Every Student-Athlete on every Seawolf team is a very special individual. They are among the best and brightest young women and men who walk the UAA Campus. They excel academically (average 3.24 GPA as a department in 2015), graduate at a significantly higher rate than the traditional student body at UAA, compete for championships in their chosen sports, and are excellent ambassadors and representatives of our campus, community and our state. I am proud and honored to be associated with each and every one of these young women and men and their coaches.
 
Given the task of reducing our program offering from 13 teams to nine teams, it is with great regret and disappointment that I announce that at the conclusion of the 2016-17 academic year, UAA Seawolf Athletics will be discontinuing our sponsorship of Men's and Women's Skiing and Men's/Women's Indoor Track and Field.
 
Should the NCAA Waiver request not be approved, we will take time to carefully consider which program would be reinstated.
 
In either case UAA will honor our commitment to those Student-Athletes who have been impacted by this decision by keeping them on scholarship through the spring of 2018.
 
For those Student-Athletes who choose to transfer to another institution to compete, we will assist them in any way we can. They would be automatically eligible to compete if they meet academic eligibility requirements.
 
I should also mention that throughout the entire decision-making process we have looked at how these reductions would impact our compliance with Title IX/ Gender Equity requirements and the impact these decisions have on our conference affiliations.
 
The decisions have been most difficult given the success of these programs both athletically and academically. These initial reductions are directly connected to the current budget crisis that exists in Alaska.
 
Over the course of the next several months there will be additional changes announced to move us toward the $1.9 Million budget reduction. Today's announcement is the first of several we will be making in the near future.
 
These reductions will impact our programs but we will continue to compete at the highest level which our Student-Athletes, coaches, fans, sponsors and donors have come to expect. Your continued support during this difficult time of change is greatly appreciated. We will continue to move forward despite these challenges.
 
Best Regards,

Keith Hackett
Director of Athletics
University of Alaska Anchorage

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