Cal Reinstates Three Sports, Not Baseball

The University of California reinstated three of the five programs cut or demoted last September, but the 119-year-old baseball program was not one of them.

The school reinstated the women's lacrosse and women's gymnastics programs and reinstated the varsity status of the men's rugby program.

That leaves baseball and men's gymnastics literally as the odd men out.

The university seemed to be on the way to reinstating all five sports programs. A New York Times story earlier this week indicated that the elimination of the five programs would likely but Cal out of compliance with Title IX.

Doug Nickle, a former Cal baseball player who was spearheading the fundraising efforts for the "Save Cal Sports" campaign, said earlier this week that he didn't see how the university could turn away their efforts.

Nickle addressed supporters via Facebook Friday afternoon, saying the university made a worse mistake Friday than they had when they originally announced baseball was eliminated Sept. 28. The post began with the words "MAKE NO MISTAKE. WE ARE NOT DONE AND WILL NOT QUIT."

"They've cherry-picked from the generosity and passion of this group and have done a terrible disservice to the University of California and the Cal student athletes," Nickle said in his note, adding that he was elated for the programs that have been reinstated. "Cal baseball has been scapegoated in this process. We've been told that we did not contribute enough to prove that Cal Baseball is a sustainable program. ... The University has turned it's back on our efforts and is now shielding themselves behind the long-term implications of Title IX."

Nickle said he will continue to work on behalf of baseball's reinstatement.

"Instead of working with us, the University has decided to move forward without us," Nickle said. "The University today stated that Cal Baseball needed to have raised $10 million dollars for baseball to have been reinstated. Why didn't they communicate this to us before today? Why now would they finally give us a target, only after they've made their second wrong decision? If they had, Cal Baseball could have worked unilaterally and raised enough money to bring baseball back. But the University was not truthful with us and they changed the rules throughout this process. We did the right thing in working for all five sports. The University failed us."

Reinstating the two women's sports and re-elevating rugby seems to be a nod to gender equity concerns.

The "Save Cal Sports" campaign raised a reported $12-13 million to reinstate the sports, with $6 million reportedly coming from rugby supporters. The university said it was seeking a commitment of $25 million in interim funding to support all five teams while plans were implemented for long-term funding.

But the campaign fell well short of that figure.

Athletic director Sandy Barbour, in a letter to "Save Cal Sports" supporters said this was a "bittersweet conclusion."

"On one hand, we are elated that the passionate efforts of our alumni and friends produced enough funding to support women's lacrosse, women's gymnastics, and men's rugby for a solid number of years to come," Barbour said. "Because of these fundraising efforts, more than 100 student-athletes will continue to compete on a varsity level for our university.

"On the other hand, the fundraising efforts - although significant by any measure - do not provide sufficient resources to support financial sustainability for the foreseeable future for Men's Gymnastics and Baseball. Unfortunately, at this point in time, the University is not in a financial position to commit to additional expenses to reinstate these two sports without a reasonable certainty that resources will be available to cover those commitments."

Cal officials indicated Friday that baseball could be reinstated if enough funding is raised at a future date. But there will be no Cal baseball in 2012.

The university indicated that they received enough support to reinstate the women's programs and rugby, but that the fundraising required for baseball - the most costly sport on the Cal docket - and gymnastics fell short.

"We are all greatly impressed by how our community organized itself in the attempt to help these five sports and the university," said Vice Chancellor Frank Yeary in a statement issued by the university. "We are delighted that, together, we have found a path that allows us to retain the two women's teams and our rugby program without adding costs to the strained budgets of the university and Cal Athletics.

"Sadly, the efforts did not meet these criteria insofar as baseball and men's gymnastics are concerned," he said. "Although the amount of money raised for these two programs is meaningful, the teams' costs are also significant. Both programs would have needed to raise multiples of what they actually did raise to meet our criteria. In the context of both current and forecasted economic and financial conditions, we simply could not agree to short-term, stopgap measures."

University Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said the university spent months trying to figure out how to save the sports.

"While we will honor every existing scholarship, I know that many of the student-athletes on the two teams slated to cease competition on behalf of the university are now grappling with a difficult choice," Birgeneau said. "I deeply regret that some will choose to go elsewhere."