In a meeting with student-athletes and coaches held on March 28, BYU-Hawaii President Steven C. Wheelwright announced the university’s plans to phase out all intercollegiate athletic programs over the next three years. All of the school’s 11 athletic programs will be disbanded including; men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, women’s softball, men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s golf, and men’s and women’s tennis. In an official statement from the university, President Wheelwright publicly announced the reasoning behind the decision. “In recent years, trends have emerged in collegiate athletics that are continuing in a direction that will be challenging for an institution the size of BYU–Hawaii.” But the main factor for discontinuing athletics is rooted in finances. “The money being spent on athletics programs will be used to provide educational opportunities for the increasing number of students from around the world who can be served by the university,” says the official statement. The statement continues, “Plans to increase enrollment to 3,200 students are already in progress with the construction of new on-campus housing facilities. The university administration feels that the top priority is to serve more students, especially those from the Pacific and Asia.” The decision to phase out athletics was made by the Board of Trustees, Executive Committee, and university administration.The phase out comes as a surprise to student athletes and coaches. “I am disappointed in the way the message was delivered and the fact we are losing athletics,” said Landon Southwick, captain of the men’s soccer team and a senior business major from Kaysville, Utah. “I have loved my two years of being a student-athlete; I owe a lot to the athletics programs here.” Athletics at BYUH have built a tradition of success winning 24 national championships. Eleven of those have come from men’s and women’s tennis. In the past three years, both the men’s basketball and women’s volleyball team have competed in the National Championship games of their respective sports.Inquires regarding the phase out can be sent to communications@byuh.edu.
Writer: Matt Roberts ~ Multimedia Journalist
