Sonoma State University (SSU) cut its entire athletic program, Jan. 22. The next day, Loyola Marymount University (LMU) announced that it would be cutting six intercollegiate programs. Other colleges announced more cuts, with San Francisco State University (SFSU) dropping women’s indoor track and field, baseball, and mens soccer on March 6, and Cal Poly eliminating swim and dive the next day.
This frenzy of athletics cuts, the universities stated, has happened for a multitude of reasons. SSU, according to ABC7news, and SFSU, as stated on NBC Bay Area, were forced to cut their sports programs because of budget deficits. LMU’s athletic director and Cal Poly’s university president mention the changing NCAA landscape. The NCAA landscape is defined by the ongoing House vs NCAA settlement, which, according to The Athletic, says NCAA institutions will have to compensate their Division 1 athletes directly, putting a strain on many D1 universities’ financial resources.
With these cuts to athletics, athletes were sent into a scramble since the cuts completely changed the trajectory of their college careers. Emmy Monk (’24), a member of SSU’s women’s soccer team, says the decision came as a shock.
“At first, I didn’t think it was real,” Monk said. “I didn’t think it was possible that they could do it. After the initial shock, it was more of just like, ‘well, what am I going to do?’ It was the feeling of uncertainty, sadness and shock all at the same time.”
SSU announced its decision at the end of application season, leaving athletes little time to find schools to apply and transfer to. Additionally, Monk says many D1 and DII rosters had already been filled, meaning there is a lack of space for those transferring out and still hoping to continue playing their sport. By the time the decision had been released to the public, payments had already been due for the spring semester, and none of the athletes transferring out for the spring semester were able to get a full refund due to school policy, although Monk says ultimately she believes the players did get the majority of their money back. Monk says that the athletes participated in walkouts and protests against the cutting of athletics.
“We had a protest [Apr.10], which a lot of athletes were a part of. It’s honestly really cool to see all of us rally together behind supporting the athletes and supporting the school.”
Monk has torn her ACL three times, injuring it for the third time this most recent soccer season, forcing her to redshirt. Before her injury and before the athletic department was cut, she had planned to stay at Sonoma all four years of her college career. But now she said she is using this sudden news as an opportunity to rest and recover from her injury. She is transferring to the University of Hawaii at Manoa and taking the year off from soccer, hoping to pick it back up for her junior year.
Monk says that SSU athletics are an integral part of campus life, and that the school would be unimaginable without any sports.
“I didn’t really know Sonoma State until I committed here for soccer,” Monk said. “Talking to other athletes and being friends with other athletes, a lot of them came here specifically for sports, not for the school. I think [sports is] a huge thing at our school [and] it’s sad that that’s all coming to an end. I can’t imagine this school next year with no sports and no athletes.”
Even though she is leaving SSU, Monk said she still holds onto hope that athletics will be reinstated in the future.
“I’m still fighting for the school,” Monk said. “I still want to see athletics getting reinstated, even though if it does get reinstated, a lot of us won’t be here anymore. We still have that same drive to do everything we can to save athletics. I’m super happy that I have found my path [and] I know what I’m doing, but at the same time, I still really want the school to succeed. I still really want this athletic program to be saved and to have a future and to have success.”
