For decades Brown University prided itself on its extensive intercollegiate athletics program. Thirty-eight varsity sports from baseball to water polo for men and women in 2019-2020. Only Harvard (42) in NCAA Division I offered more varsity opportunities.
But the days of fencing, squash, golf, skiing, equestrian and men’s cross country and track are over, and not for reasons you might expect. Brown is dropping 11 varsity sports – and promoting two – with the intention of re-distributing $500,000 to make the remaining 29 programs more competitive in the Ivy League.
The eliminated programs can continue as club sports, but the difference is significant. Club sports receive no support from the athletics department. Participants are responsible for fundraising, hiring coaches and scheduling opponents.
Brown asserts this dramatic move was necessary because it had lost its competitive edge. For the 10 years ending in 2018, it noted, Brown athletes won only 2.8 percent of the of the Ivy League championships, the worst performance among the league’s eight schools and inconsistent with Brown’s pledge of “excellence in all we do,” President Christina Paxson said during a Zoom session Thursday afternoon.
Jack Hayes, the director of athletics, delivered the bad news to 150 incoming and returning athletes and their seven coaches Thursday morning. He has follow-up meetings scheduled and said Brown will assist those athletes who wish to transfer. The changes are effective immediately.
Paxson emphasized that the cuts have nothing to do with the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and the operating budget for athletics remains the same. This Excellence in Brown Athletics started before the pandemic, she said. After an analysis by an outside consultant during the 2018-2019 academic year, Paxson formed a Committee on Excellence in Athletics comprising Brown alumni who support sports. Their mission was to recommend changes “in a fair and objective manner.”
Brown did not disclose who conducted the external review or who served on the committee.
Neither Paxson nor Hayes went into detail about the selection process. Paxson did say the process was “more nuanced” than looking at records. She cited facilities, history of success and community support as factors. For example, she suggested, a ski team makes little sense in a state without a mountain. But sailing on Narragansett Bay, among the best sailing areas on the East Coast, makes perfect sense. So, co-ed and women’s sailing are being promoted to varsity status.
Maintaining gender equity was another factor. Brown lost a landmark Title IX case in the early 1990s – Title IX is a federal law prohibiting gender-based discrimination in education — and in the ensuing 25 years has strived to ensure the percentage of female athletes reflects the percentage of women in the student population, currently about 53 percent.
“We are so close to parity it is impossible to get closer,” Paxson said.
Diversity was also a factor. In a statement announcing the changes, Brown maintains that dropping the 11 sports will enhance the school’s club offerings and “allow a broader range of non-recruited athletes to participate in a wider array of teams.” Brown noted that golf, running, skiing and squash already exist as club programs.
If there is a surprise among the demoted sports, it’s cross-country and track. Equipment costs are minimal; Brown has enjoyed success, if not so much recently, and the pool of high-school recruits remains steady. In other words, there are more runners and jumpers than fencers, squash players and equestrians.
Paxson and Hayes acknowledged that alumni of the affected sports will be disappointed and upset.
The redistributed funds will go toward recruiting, facilities improvement and professional development for coaches. Rosters sizes will increase. Hayes said that sports that have enjoyed success in the last season or two, like women’s soccer and men’s basketball, should benefit sooner from the additional resources.
