Last month, the University of New Mexico ski team's funding was cut entirely.
On Thursday, a group of 15 now-former ski team members held a conference to discuss the impact of the program being cut.
The group provided information about decision of the board of regents to eliminate the program, how the news affected them and detailed what they were told it would take to get it reinstated.
Sophomore Alex Barounos began by stating the meeting wasn't something that was put together by the athletic department or any other University influences, but rather by the former student-athletes themselves.
He said, the players were stunned when the program was axed, especially since the team has experienced perennial success.
The program has had a rich history of winning, with the program bringing UNM its first national title in 2004, while also collecting 13 NCAA team trophies and 17 individual NCAA champions since its inception in 1970.
The team also fared well in the classroom. Barounos said the ski team maintained the highest cumulative GPA in athletics, with a 3.92 for the women and a 3.60 for the men.
But going to class and pretending things are business-as-usual couldn't have been easy for the student-athletes. With finals week looming, they are still coming to grips with the realization that they will no longer be able to compete in the sport they dedicated so much time and effort to.
Sophomore Katharine Irwin, junior Patrick Brachner and several other players joined Barounos to discuss how the recent chaos has affected them.
Irwin, a biology major, said things have been difficult to trying focus on her studies while also trying to fight to save the team. She said it has added a great deal of stress to the team.
“This whole cutting of the ski team coming at the last minute has really interfered with me trying to study for all of my major exams," she said.
Barounos said finding out about the program being cut on Apr. 13 couldn't have come at a worse time. It was just the first of a series of unfortunate events, especially for those looking to continue competing collegiately. He said the deadline to transfer to other schools was either too close, or in some cases, had already passed.
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“The only option I have is to quit my sport and try and pursue my education, Barounos added. “And this brings up a whole other set of problems, because like I said, deadlines have passed and teams have already gone through their recruitment process, so I'm not really in a position to make another team.”
Irwin said that Vice President of Athletics Paul Krebs told the team that the University would save about $600,000 by cutting the program. She went on to say that when Krebs was asked what dollar amount would be required to save the program, he initially said $15 million — an amount she said was unrealistic and one that has continued to change.
She said the team is now focused on on finishing strong and passing classes, and although many things appear to be out of their control, there are still plenty of questions that need to be answered.
“There has been a lot of inconsistencies and just almost shady things that we just don't know what is exactly going on with the athletic department," Irwin said. "As student athletes, we're just trying to stay away (from the financial aspect).”
Brachner said the idea that the team would have to raise its own funds to support the program does not make any sense.
“We are NCAA athletes; we're not allowed to have sponsors,” Branchner said. “It's kind of like clipping a bird’s wings and saying, ‘Fly.’”
For now, the athletes appear to be stuck between a rock and a hard place, and finding their way out may not be an easy task.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers baseball and women's basketball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
