On March 24, President Dick Celeste, Faculty Athletics Representative Ralph Bertrand, and Director of Athletics Ken Ralph announced that three varsity sports — football, water polo, and softball — would be discontinued. I would like to offer a perspective — as a CC alumnus, trustee, Athletics Board member, and one who was involved in this process from the outset — as to why this decision was made.
Last December, the Board of Trustees asked President Celeste to initiate a process to reduce the college’s budget by $8-12 million for the coming academic year. This decision was necessitated by a decline in the market value of our endowment resulting in a reduction in the annual endowment payout to CC’s operating budget for the next three years as required in our endowment payout guidelines.
Under Ken Ralph’s leadership over the past 18 months, CC’s athletics department began cutting expenses to offset rising travel and operating costs caused by skyrocketing fuel prices and the high travel expenses inherent in being the only Division III college in the Mountain Time Zone. The size of travel squads and the number of games played have been reduced over the past 18 months to mitigate the built-in higher cost structure caused by our location.
When the $8-12 million budget reduction was announced, all areas of the college were asked to make cuts, including athletics. Ken Ralph, his senior staff, and the Athletics Board evaluated many options and all of our athletics programs. The decision to cut these three programs was made in order to ensure that the athletics department lived within its new budget and that the remaining 17 sports programs had the necessary resources to remain strong and provide our student athletes with a positive experience.
Football at CC started in 1885 and has played an important role in the college’s history and campus life. The decision to discontinue it, along with water polo and softball, was very difficult. CC has not discontinued a sport in 15 years. CC football, however, has long faced challenges beyond the financial realm. Maintaining appropriate roster sizes has been a concern for many years. Even with the known challenges, the college has remained committed to sponsoring a football program until the economic realities changed over the past months. As evidence of the significant challenges, note that CC football has had one winning season in the past 32 years. CC will save approximately $450,000 per year by eliminating our football program.
As one of the participants in this decision-making process, I can personally attest to how difficult and emotionally draining it has been for all involved. However, I am convinced it is the right decision in light of the economic times that the college and rest of the world are experiencing.
Ken Ralph and his staff, along with President Celeste and the Board of Trustees, remain absolutely committed to offering varsity, club, and intramural athletics at Colorado College and to providing our student athletes a positive experience. No other cuts in athletics are being contemplated at this time and none are expected. Tough times require tough decisions so that Colorado College can continue to offer our students an excellent academic and student life experience.
| Significant Moments in Football, Softball, and Water Polo | |
| Christmas Day, 1882 – CC football team defeats Sigafus Hose Co., 10-8, in its first game ever against an outside opponent | 1928 – Earl “Dutch” Clark becomes the first of 16 Tiger gridders to earn All-America honors after rushing for 1,349 yards and scoring 105 points |
| 1975 – Colorado College Football earns an NCAA Division III playoff bid under legendary and Hall of Fame head coach Jerry Carle | March 14, 1996 – CC softball team records its first-ever victory by defeating Biola University, 7-5, in Southern California |
| April 3, 2004 – After making its debut as a varsity program a month earlier, CC water polo claims its first victory by beating the University of Arizona, 13-4, in Boulder, Colo. | 2006 – Softball Tigers finish with a school-record 16 victories overall en route to a 15-13 record against Division III opponents |
| 2008 – Tournament host Colorado College finishes second in Midwest Regional water polo competition and earns an at-large bid to the National Championships | |
14 Responses to Tough Times, Tough Decisions: Athletics Cuts at CC
YES YES YES!!!
Absolutely the right decision.
Meanwhile, three Division III schools have announced this year that they are adding football. Two others that previously announced their addition will be taking the field this fall.
At the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, the decision to eliminate baseball was put on hold while alumni and friends of the program are given the opportunity to raise funds to keep the team on the field.
Finally, Colorado College’s partners in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference were primarily left holding the bag because the school waited until very late in the offseason to eliminate football. One school is playing a glorified scrimmage against a Mexican team, a game that won’t be counted by the NCAA. Most have open dates and will play only nine games this season. And in fact, the school did not have the courtesy to inform the conference prior to making its public announcement. I know CC is relatively new to being a conference member on the Division III level, but that isn’t how institutions treat their partners.
Speaking as an ex-football player, my comment will obviously be biased. But I am only stubborn and brutally honest when I know I’m right.
This is easily the worst decision made, to my knowledge, of any kind, of any nature, and in any form. Not only did the school not reach for financial support from giving alumni (raised MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in a matter of a few weeks, enough to support the programs for another 2-3 years financially), but the matter of this decision and how it was conducted was pitiful and embarrassing. Sticking a post-it note on your head coach’s office door, telling him he has a week to pack up and leave, IS unacceptable and frankly immature.
CC will now lose a significant amount of diversity among its cultural ethnicty population as well as the intellectual community. Numerous ex-players graduated with honors from my class, exhibiting not only great personal accountability, but outstanding work ethic, putting countless hours in the library as well as on the field.
My “Comment” could go on and on, listing various reasons as to why the ousting of football is utterly asinine upon closer understanding, but that’s not what this page is for.
Henry C. Klingman, I do not know you, but disheartened by your comment regardless. I think any time an academic institution decides to cut an extra-curricular activity of any sort, for the sole purpose of saving MONEY, a material object that apparently dictates the behavior of a private liberal institution with over $250 Mil in its back pocket, I think that everyone loses, students and faculty alike.
I wouldn’t be suprised to see more athletic programs be let go next year, and then turn around to see the cowardly individuals who made this decision will probably have their dream come true by having their Academics Only Colorado College, and turning everything into Intramurals for all those lovely “full-pay” students who offer nothing of any kind to anybody else, regardless of the dismay/nausea of thousands of loyal alumni.
CC apparently made it clear which demographic of alumni they’d like support….or even listen to, for that matter.
Disgruntled and Shamed,
Matt Shepherd ’08
The “right” decision? Right for whom? The student athletes who chose CC and forewent other opportunities to participate in athletics elsewhere, and who then had the promises made to them unceremoniously revoked? Right for the thousands of CC alumni who believe that athletics is an important part of a Liberal Arts education, and likely is one of the largest contributors to racial and ethnic diversity at CC? It may be the “right” decision for Mr. Klingman, the Board of Trustees, and President Celeste — none of whom asked for input or assistance from the alumni or parents — but I do not see how it can be the “right” decision for anyone else, the CC Community, or CC as a whole.
I strongly disagree with CC’s decision. The administration failed to give the alumni or athletes any opportunity to address the problem. Despite many requests in writing and in person from athetes, alumni, parents, students and financial supporters, as well as offers to develop new financial support, the administration refused even to delay the decision. It was secretive, preemptive, improvident, and unnecessary. It will hurt the school, and hopefully, it will be reversed, when cooler heads prevail.
I notice that the scholarship sports were not touched. I’m an outsider, but they would seem to cost a lot more.
My father graduated from CC in 1931 and while there was Dutch Clark’s best friend, fraternity brother and the best man at his wedding. Even my grandmother would write letter to “her boys” asking about the games when she was out of town. My father also grew up in what is now The Moreale House on the CC campus. This year he would be 100 years old and was talking about Dutch and football up until he died at the age of 91. He would be so disheartened by what has happened to the program as am I.
Talking about football as another discontinued sport is a slap in the face. We are not talking about a fad. The football tradition at Colorado College, at 127 years, is almost as old as the college itself. Where is the president who is supposed to commit to CC’s history? Where are the trustees who are supposed to preserve CC’s traditions? Where is the mechanism that ensures CC’s caretakers do what they are supposed to do???
The reasons given for discontinuing football tell only a part of the story. The financial challenges alluded to were brought on by a poorly thought out decision to join a conference whose closest opponent was two states away, causing travel expenses to balloon. The lack of winning seasons was mentioned as another reason. This is not a problem by itself, rather it is a symptom of a problem. The real problem is that the program was neglected for so long. Where were the people who were supposed to keep track of that situation? Why did they let it go on like that for so long? Of course when you don’t have a winning program it’s going to be harder to recruit players. So no wonder they had trouble filling the roster. The decision to discontinue football was just as shortsighted and negligent as the decisions which led to the program’s sorry state of affairs.
What is most disconcerting about the article is that there is no mention of reinstating the sports. Something should have been said about that. You really know how to inspire the opposition…
Jerry DiMarco
The decision to discontinue football is faulty for three reasons. First, when you discontinue 127 years of tradition you lose not only that tradition you also lose part of a collegiate institution’s spirit, part of its soul.
Second, Colorado College is losing a great deal of its diversity, particularly economic and social diversity.
Finally, why weren’t the people directly affected by this decision, the players, coaches,parents,former players and coaches given a chance to raise the money to continue the program? Why weren’t these people notified in November that discontinuing the football program was a possibility? Other options could have been explored!
Former football players are one of CC’s largest alumni groups. Many former players are hurt and disenchanted!
Ted Swan ’77
I am a parent of 2 college scholar athletes, one of whom was affected by this tragic decision by CC. I am appalled beyond words by the callous disregard the decision-makers had to the irreparable impact of their action on their students. Regardless of what ivory tower administrators and part-time Trustees may hypothesize, athletics are an integral and inseparable component of a scholar athlete’s college experience. This is particularly true at the D3 level. My children looked very hard for the right mix of academic distinction and athletic participation. But for athletics, CC would have never been considered. Take away the opportunity proudly to represent CC at NCAA events and the undergraduate experience is ruined. I have seen nothing in the explanation of this decision that indicates any true understanding or appreciation of how cruel and individually devastating this action was to the student athletes.. All I read are empty words and hypocritical assurances that this impact was somehow fully considered. But to me the most reprehensible thing done to these scholar athletes, morally and otherwise, was not including them in the process and giving them and alumni a fair opportunity to stave off their respective program termination. In addition to summarily eliminating an important part of their college experience, CC has struck a blow against their idealism and instead imbued them with cynicism and distrust. This effect may be permanent and the resultant harm is truly incalculable.
As a 1974 graduate of CC and a member of the varsity football program while there, I am embarrassed by the decisions of Dick Celeste and the Board of Trustees and especially saddened by the attempt to justify their decision written by Bob Manning ’69. As an alumnus and board member, he is obviously entitled to his opinion. I am struck by the repeated use by the President and the Board of their mantra “tough times require tough decisions”. From where I stand, they didn’t make tough decisions, they took the easy way out. The financial challenges of the last year are simply a shield for bad decisions they have consistently made since the hiring of Dick Celeste. The times now are not nearly as tough as the Great Depression of the 1920s & 1930s, yet the football program and academic programs survived that period. The academic programs are clearly concerned about the current leadership as evidenced by a letter this May from over 90 of the tenured faculty to the Board in which the faculty expressed their concern about the leadership in the College. The tough decision in the current situation would have been to work with alumni and faculty to save the programs, yet no attempt was made. Other colleges and universities are adding athletic programs including football while CC cowers in a corner and cuts programs. The financial problem at the college is a result of an administration that has decided it cares more about buildings than it does the experience of the students. One last perspective on tough decisions. In 1970, Marshall University lost its entire football team and coaching staff except 3 players and 1 coach in a tragic airplane crash. Most people thought they should quit but they didn’t. The next year they fielded a team, petitioned the NCAA to allow freshmen to play and won 2 games. In the 1970s, they persisted and lost more games than any other collegiate football program in the country, yet they persisted. In 1984, they had their first winning season in 20 years and then proceeded to win 8 consecutive conference titles, 5 bowl wins and 2 national championships. Mr Manning’s distorted “facts” on the CC football record should embarrass us all. The administration and the board clearly have no idea what “tough” decisions are.
I also feel that the decision was mistaken and poorly implemented. However, I glad that so many CC supporters are working to bring football (and the other discontinued sports) back soon. See washburnfoundation.org. Pete Ruch, ’60
What I see from the outside looking in is an Athletic Department that is mis managed! Sports is one of the biggest money makers in college,( next to books). What a sad little college. I loved visiting that school. I wonder if they plan on selling the football field? it is one of the oldest football fields in the world!
I agree
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