UAlbany Athletics To Discontinue Tennis Following 2016 Season
ALBANY, N.Y. – The University at Albany and Director of Athletics Mark Benson announced today that the University will discontinue its Division I women’s tennis program following the 2016 spring season.
Over the summer and fall of 2015, the landscape of America East tennis was altered with the loss of NJIT, an associate member, which caused UMBC and Hartford to review their sport sponsorship and eventual discontinuation of their women's tennis program. As a result, the UAlbany athletic department worked with the conference office to find a suitable league affiliation moving forward. Simultaneously, the department examined the scenario to remain competitive as an independent without a postseason automatic qualifier.
“This was not an easy decision to make,” said Benson. “I met with head coach Gordon Graham and the team this morning before making this announcement. Eliminating opportunities is painful for everyone involved: student-athletes, coaches and administration.
“The change in the America East membership forced us to examine our current sports offerings. We undertook a thoughtful and collaborative review of all of our options for the women's tennis program moving forward,” said Benson. “Unfortunately, we could not find a suitable option that would work from a competitive, budgetary, travel and missed class time perspective. To remain in a conference with no automatic NCAA qualifier or play as an independent with no realistic hope of postseason opportunities were not attractive options.”
“Since taking over as head coach five years ago, this program has made great strides to becoming a competitive tennis team in the America East Conference,” said Graham. “I appreciate that UAlbany administrators had a tough decision to make and that they did what was in the best interests of the University. Naturally I am disappointed and sad for the student-athletes, my assistant coach and our supporters. Moving forward, I will make certain that our team finishes strong in league play and help with this transition."
America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen commented, “Due to the loss of an associate member (NJIT) over the summer, our institutions who sponsor women’s tennis were faced with the unfortunate reality that the conference no longer had enough teams to qualify for access to the NCAA championship. An exploration to find a replacement was unsuccessful and, consequently, two institutions (UMBC, Hartford) announced they would discontinue the sport following this season. While disappointing to all involved at the affected institutions, I know our administrators are committed to providing a quality experience for their student-athletes across all sports and access to the NCAA championship is a key component of the Division I experience.”
The University will honor all current athletic financial aid for those student-athletes who choose to remain at UAlbany through their matriculation, as well as honor the current employment contracts of the coaches.
The Athletic Department will reallocate existing funds into areas that will strengthen their Title IX position, as well as areas that will benefit all student-athletes from a student welfare perspective. UAlbany will increase the number of female student-athlete participants amongst the existing women's sports programs. In addition, they will elevate a number of part time women's assistant coaches to full time status and increase the annual operating budgets in women's sports. Additional funds will be invested in positions within departments that support all student-athletes such as academic support, compliance and/or sports medicine.
