The University of Minnesota Board of Regents Friday will take up a vote on whether to eliminate four sports, affecting 58 Gopher athletes.
The proposal from Athletic Director Mark Coyle and President Joan Gable would slash men's indoor and outdoor track and field, men's tennis and gymnastics, citing a projected $75 million budget deficit as well as Title IX.
John Simons, a 2014 graduate, former 1500 meter runner, and current coach at Dartmouth said Thursday afternoon he's feeling confident that their research and argument to keep the sports will be convincing, ranging from tradition, racial equity, the role of non-revenue sports, and finances.
"In some senses we're feeling like the eye of thr storm, we're right into that at this time ans we're ready to face the final blast," he said.
Simons said the shock galvanized hundreds of alums, current athletes, donors and community members. A core group put in 10 to 12 hours a day as part of a full-fledged call to action, resulting in gathering nearly $1.8 million in pledges for a five year period.
Simons worries about the future of the sport, which has been offered at the U for 130 years.
"If it goes through, it's open season (on track and field) at every school," he said. "If it doesn't go through then I think that people will look at that a lot more closely and see that this is situation where people really care about these sports and are willing to fight for them."
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m.
