HSU: Football program will be discontinued after upcoming 2018 season
ARCATA, Calif. — Humboldt State University (HSU) announced Tuesday afternoon that it will discontinue its football program after the upcoming 2018 season. The move was announced after coaches and players were informed.
President Lisa Rossbacher described it as an unfortunate, but necessary, step in addressing the university’s structural deficit and protecting HSU’s core academic mission. She also said she is committed to HSU’s athletics program remaining in Division II of the NCAA and said that the timing of the announcement would provide football student-athletes maximum opportunity to consider future options.
The press release from HSU:
Discontinuing football will bring a conclusion to a program that began shortly after the University’s founding and which has enjoyed many successes. It has had standout stars and some players, most recently Alex Cappa, made the leap to the professional level. Games at the Redwood Bowl have been highlighted by a strong community atmosphere.
“Our football team has been an important source of pride for our students, staff, and alumni, as well as our regional community,” President Rossbacher said. “Sadly, and despite a tremendous fund drive effort, we found that football cannot be sustained through student fees and community giving. At the same time, the University cannot continue to subsidize budget deficits in Athletics without threatening our academic programs.”
The announcement was consistent with President Rossbacher’s decision last fall that the football program could only continue with significant private support.
A fund drive, led by a passionate group of boosters, showed some promise that the program could be funded through community support and additional University investment. A goal of $500,000 in “net new” private support by January of each year was established, with HSU committing to match. However, even with the timeline extended through June, the total amount collected was $329,000.
“I want to extend my sincerest thanks to members of the community who led the fund drive and everyone who offered their financial support,” President Rossbacher said. “I believe the fund drive demonstrates that this decision did not come quickly or lightly, as we considered many factors and evaluated various alternatives. Ultimately, we had to halt the growing budget deficits in Athletics and prevent these deficits from threatening our core academic mission, as well as preserving our Division II standing and conference affiliations.”
Coaches and players were informed shortly before the announcement was public.
HSU will honor scholarships for eligible players through the 2018-19 academic year, and coaches and staff will also help players contact other programs. At the end of the season, players will get a full release, which means they could choose to play at another institution. In most cases, they could choose to compete for HSU this year, and then transfer and compete for another institution next year.
The players are being offered academic and financial advising, and they will be able to utilize the tutoring and other support services offered through Intercollegiate Athletics for as long as they’re students at HSU.
“I trust the consultative and analytical process that President Rossbacher undertook in coming to this conclusion, and I fully support her in making this difficult but necessary choice,” said CSU Chancellor Timothy White. “I understand the benefits that participating in athletics provides to our student athletes and unfortunately, while this outcome is fiscally prudent, it will be unpopular in some circles. As HSU president, she is tasked with making decisions that are in the best long-term interest of the core mission of the entire university, and this is one such decision.”
The decision to discontinue football was driven by budget challenges at the University level and deficits within the Athletics Department. HSU is in the midst of a two-year effort to reduce spending by $9 million and achieve a balanced budget by the 2020-21 academic year.
Within Athletics, football is the most expensive program, with a net cost of about $1 million. Last year, the University covered a deficit in Athletics that had reached $750,000, up from $250,000 three years ago. This is consistent with national trends. According to studies conducted by the NCAA, expenses in university athletics programs have grown more quickly than university-wide expenses overall. At HSU, the rate of cost increases in the Athletics Department has been roughly double that of the University.
In addition to football’s high net cost to the University, HSU is required to have 10 sports to remain eligible for NCAA Division II competition. To remain in the CCAA, HSU’s primary conference, the 10 sports are required to be chosen from a specified list, and football is not included on that list.
After football is discontinued, HSU’s athletics program will include 11 sports: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s track & field, crew, softball, and volleyball.
The university released the following FAQs:
HSU Football Questions & Answers
1. Why did the University decide to discontinue football after the 2018 season?
This was a painful but necessary step to address the University’s structural deficit and protect HSU’s core academic mission. With a net cost of about $1 million annually, the football program has become too expensive for the University to support and subsidize indefinitely. The Athletics Department as a whole had a deficit of $750,000 in 2017-18, and the University is in the midst of a two-year effort to reduce spending by $9 million.
President Rossbacher’s decision in the fall was that the football program could only continue with significant private support. Under a plan devised with boosters, “net new” private support of $500,000 by January of each year would be matched by $500,000 from the University. However, even after waiting until the end of June, the net new donations collected as part of the fund drive stood at $329,000.
2. Why is this being announced now?
This provides football student-athletes with time to make plans if they want to transfer to another institution after the 2018 season.
3. What is being done for the football players?
HSU is providing support to players to help them continue their academic study at HSU or transfer to another school, if that is their decision. Scholarships for eligible players will be honored for the 2018-19 academic year. Academic and financial counseling is available to all the students.
4. How much money was raised from the community to provide funding support?
The fund drive resulted in $329,000 in donations through the end of June of this year. HSU is deeply appreciative of everyone who offered support, and we admire the passion of the alumni and community members who led the fund drive. It was a tremendous effort.
5. Didn’t the fund drive raise more than $500,000 in support as of last fall?
The fund drive had nearly $500,000 in pledges of support, but not outright gifts. After many months of effort, the “net new” cash donations collected as part of the fund drive were $329,000.
6. What is the future of HSU’s athletics program?
President Rossbacher is committed to maintaining a Division II athletics program at HSU. After football is discontinued, HSU will sponsor 11 sports.
7. How will the loss of football affect funding for other HSU sports and scholarships?
HSU values its community and alumni supporters and hopes that they will continue to support HSU athletics. Charitable giving for all of Athletics was $700,000 in 2017-18, up from $553,000 the year before.
8. With the loss of football, will HSU be out of compliance with Title IX?
Some changes will need to made, and Title IX allows for these changes to be made over time. Adjustments will be made to rosters, but no programs will need to be discontinued in order to meet Title IX requirements.
9. Does discontinuing football mean that student IRA fees will be reduced or that more funding will be available for other activities at HSU?
Current fees are insufficient to support the Athletics program, which is why the University has been forced to subsidize Athletics for three years. This has been at the same time the University is working to address the overall University-wide deficit. The decision to discontinue football does not make any new money available for fee reductions or other programs.
10. Have other universities faced challenges funding their football programs?
In all of California, there are only two NCAA Division II football programs: Humboldt and one private college. Within the 23-campus CSU system, there are just five campuses that still sponsor football programs. Except for Humboldt (enrollment of 8,350), the other CSU football programs are at schools with enrollment greater than 20,000 students and three are greater than 30,000. Four CSUs eliminated their football programs in the mid-1990s (Cal State East Bay, San Francisco State, Sonoma State, and Chico State). Two private schools in Northern California also did so during this same period (Santa Clara University and University of the Pacific). St. Mary’s College of California eliminated its football program in 2004.
11.What is being done to address HSU’s overall structural budget deficit?
In seeking a balanced and sustainable budget, spending was reduced by $1.5 million during 2017- 18, and the University is seeking to reduce spending by an additional $9 million in the current and upcoming year. Combined, these actions will position the University to achieve a balanced budget by 2020-21. In addition, the University has begun building its capital and operating reserves, and has adopted a two-year budgeting process to allow for better long-term planning.
12.What is being done to address the University’s decline in enrollment? Will this problem getworse with the loss of football players?
After increasing for the four years between 2012-13 and 2015-16, HSU has experienced lower enrollment over the last two years. Fall enrollment has dropped from 8,790 to 8,347. This dip has had a small but challenging impact on the budget, and the loss of football will likely lead to an additional small decline in enrollment. To address the enrollment decline, numerous vacant positions in the Admissions area have been filled and we have temporarily assigned other staff to that area. A new Strategic Enrollment Management plan was recently completed. We are continuing to evaluate and adjust our student support programs, and to implement best practices to keep more students in school making progress towards a degree.