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Pandemic forces Stanford to cut nearly a dozen sports from athletic department
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Stanford University will have a significant reduction in the number of athletic programs it offers moving forward.
On Wednesday, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported that Stanford will be cutting 11 of its 36 athletic programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While not many of those sports the school is dropping are marquee programs, it will still impact roughly 240 student-athletes and 22 coaches.
The sports that will be cut by the university are:
- Men’s and women’s fencing
- Field hockey
- Lightweight rowing
- Men’s rowing
- Co-ed and women’s sailing
- Squash
- Synchronized swimming
- Men’s volleyball
- Wrestling
“This is heartbreaking news to share,” the university said in statement. “These 11 programs consist of more than 240 incredible student-athletes and 22 dedicated coaches. They were built by more than 4,000 alumni whose contributions led to 20 national championships, 27 Olympic medals, and an untold number of academic and professional achievements. Each of the individuals associated with these programs will forever have a place in Stanford’s history.”
Stanford’s athletic department offered 36 athletic programs, more than just about every other Division I university.
Stanford isn’t the first school to make cuts to sports programs due to the pandemic, but it has eliminated significantly more than most other schools.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB