OpinionsEditorials

No volleyball makes no cents

When a tuition shortfall forced all departments at the University of La Verne to re-evaluate their operations and make cutbacks, the athletic department came to an unexpected conclusion: the men’s volleyball team would be eliminated.

While the athletic department maintains that the decision is based solely on monetary issues, there are reasons to believe that may not be the whole story.

The team vowed to fundraise the entire cost of the 2005 season, and the coaches said they would go without pay. Still, the administration upheld its original decision.

With season costs at $23,000 and 22 players on the team, the funds could have been easily attained.

Teams do it each year to travel across the country for tournaments, although teams from most other colleges are not forced to fundraise.

The men’s volleyball program was chosen was because it is the only sport at ULV that does not compete as a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and is one of only two Division III schools on the West Coast with a men’s volleyball program.

Instead of looking down upon the program for those reasons, the administration should have considered the school unique in that respect. Yes, ULV is one of only two schools with such a program, that’s why players choose to come here. Anyone looking to play competitive Division III volleyball could consider attending La Verne because the options are limited, and are now even more so.

With limited local Division III competition, ULV had the opportunity to play Division I and II programs. This is not something most Division III teams get the opportunity to do.

The athletic department said it was also expensive to travel to find such competition. But as of yet, that has not been an issue for the team. Competition has come to ULV in the past, and the farthest the men’s volleyball team traveled last season was to Northern California.

ULV’s track record of freshmen and transfers attending La Verne purely for the fact they can continue to play volleyball proves that it is a popular and successful program. But the administration overlooked that because it does not draw in the money they would like it to.

ULV’s volleyball teams – men and women – are more successful than any of its other sports on a national level. The men’s volleyball team has gone to four Division III Final Fours in the past seven years, including a National Championship in 1999 and third place finishes in 2002 and 2003.

It is surprising that an institution as tuition-dependent as ULV would eliminate a program that is a proven draw for student and that brings the University approximately $20,000 a year per player. Instead, those players have now taken their tuition dollars elsewhere and the fans left behind have no one to root for.

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Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the Campus Times Editorial Board.

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