[JBROB]

East Carolina University cuts four sports due to coronavirus

ECU is also taking measures to reduce an estimated $4.9 million deficit the athletics department faces. The plan includes cuts to operations within athletics, regional scheduling and traveling for select sports, a limit on summer school for student-athletes, and suspending all professional development/conferences for a minimum of one year.

https://www.wfmynews2.com/mobile/article/sports/east-carolina-university-ecu-cuts-four-sports-swimming-diving-tennis-coronavirus-budget-cuts/83-0515b545-b2e8-4d7b-9220-c2d0ac9f2e88

[JBROB]

Affected programs are men’s swimming and diving, women’s swimming and diving, men’s tennis and women’s tennis. The move affects 68 student-athletes and nine coaches. ECU previously led the American Athletic Conference with 20 sports (following the departure of Connecticut) and will now have 16 sports (9 women’s, 7 men’s). The NCAA requires Division I FBS schools to have a minimum of 16 sports including a minimum eight women’s and six men’s sports. ECU will remain at 16 sponsored sports.

[‘87 Alum]

ECU did well in Womens Swimming this past year. Not shocked that they dropped those sports with the loss in revenues from the NCAA Tourney.

[Grambling '93]

East Carolina University cuts four sports due to coronavirus

ECU is also taking measures to reduce an estimated $4.9 million deficit the athletics department faces. The plan includes cuts to operations within athletics, regional scheduling and traveling for select sports, a limit on summer school for student-athletes, and suspending all professional development/conferences for a minimum of one year.

https://www.wfmynews2.com/mobile/article/sports/east-carolina-university-ecu-cuts-four-sports-swimming-diving-tennis-coronavirus-budget-cuts/83-0515b545-b2e8-4d7b-9220-c2d0ac9f2e88

It must be $4.9 mil over time, because I can't see them spending that amount on non-revenue sports.

[‘87 Alum]

The issue in its entirety isn’t COVID-19, it may very well be fiscal mismanagement. They didn’t amass those deficits in the past quarter or even half year. Those deficits are cumulative.

Separately, where does the presumably largest and most competitive non-P5 conference now go? Do they absorb a smaller conference to create a larger non-P5 in the hopes of having more stability?

UCONN is now in the Big East.
Cincy and ECU cut programs.

To the north, there’s Temple. Southern schools include South Florida and Central Florida. Southwest schools are SMU & Houston. And you got Wichita State too.

Do you roll in the A-10, MAC or similar conference to bolster the AAC?