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In a cost cutting move, Pacific is considering to eliminate its men’s volleyball program, but the money that the university could save is minimal compared to what other schools spend on the sport.
Pacific at $68,023 had the third lowest annual operating budget of the 13 schools in the MPSF conference, according to the most recent U.S. Department of Education report released in November 2012.
Athletics director Ted Leland announced two weeks ago that he wanted to cut the men’s volleyball program in an effort to decrease the athletics department by about 5 percent and help fund the university’s new $15 million strategic initiative.
The potential cut, though, would come to a team that is operating at a fraction the cost of other men’s volleyball programs.
The annual budget for the Tigers finished almost $45,000 below the average operating budget for a MPSF men’s volleyball team, according to the report. In addition, four schools in the MPSF had more than double Pacific’s the operating budget.
UCLA, which had a conference-high $233,444 operating budget, came in at almost four times more than what Pacific spent on its program.
The recommendation to cut the team also comes months after Pacific failed to reach the MPSF Tournament for the ninth straight year. The Tigers have not had a winning season since 2003.
Opponents against Leland’s recommendation to eliminate the sport have argued, though, that the school has never been fully funded enough to be consistently successful in the MPSF.
Similar to teams in its conference, men’s volleyball is one of the lowest funded Pacific teams, according to the U.S. Department of Education report.
Men’s volleyball had the school’s eighth lowest operating budget, according to the report. It also accounts for about 4.3 percent of the school’s entire $1.56 million operating budget.
Despite the recommendation to cut men’s volleyball, it is not a guarantee the university will follow through on the proposed cut.
Pacific will hold a series of town hall meetings and seek online comments before the final cost cutting recommendations are submitted to the school’s president on Sept. 20.