Athletes discuss impeding budget cuts at SAAC meeting
Athletes from various Big Green teams gathered on Monday to offer their opinions on what programs and policies of the athletic department can see reduction as part of the College's planned budget cuts, in a discussion sponsored by the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. Many student-athletes in attendance agreed that, since varsity teams already have distinctly different funding levels, it will be difficult to administer a uniform cut across all athletic programs. The athletic department plans to implement a permanent 15 percent budget cut, which will contribute to the total $40 million College-wide cut, according to Budget Committee member and former varsity tennis player Jennifer Murray '09. Those attending the panel found it difficult, however, to agree on comparable athletic funds that could be cut for every athletic program, due to each team's varied dependence on different areas of funding. "We will definitely look at each sport differently, depending on the status of the team and the type of sport," Murray said. She added that it would be unfair to take performance ratings into consideration when making cuts. Under the current athletic budget, some teams rely more heavily on outside sources of funding than others.
