Stanford Reverses Decision To Cut 11 Sports Programs

PALO ALTO, CA — Stanford University will not eliminate 11 varsity sports programs that it had originally planned to cut, changing its decision from last July.

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported the decision, which was announced by the university on Tuesday.

The reversal came after months of protest led by an alumni organization called 36SportsStrong that includes 39 Olympians and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, a former Stanford football player, has led to backlash against the university's decision. The group has raised more than $50 million in funding to save the sports, according to ESPN.

"We have new optimism based on new circumstances, including vigorous and broad-based philanthropic interest in Stanford Athletics on the part of our alumni, which have convinced us that raising the increased funds necessary to support all 36 of our varsity teams is an approach that can succeed," Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne said in a news release.

A group of Stanford students protested the decision at the school's quad in April, painting graffiti outside the office of Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the university's president, that read "We Belong," "Let Us Play," and "You Can't Cut Me."

The programs that were slated to be eliminated were: men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball and wrestling.

"Best news of the day!" tweeted new Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff on Tuesday morning.

Last week, two lawsuits were filed by athletes against the university’s decision to cut the sports. In the news release, Stanford officials said that the decision to retain the sports had been made independent of the lawsuits being filed.

"Our discussions with 36 Sports Strong and other constituencies were already far along, and we reached the conclusion we are announcing today independent of their filing," the unnamed officials said in the news release. "We were disappointed by these suits since it was well known that we were engaged in these discussions, and we are pleased to be embarking on a more positive path."

Last July, the university blamed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic for the cuts, which also included the elimination of 20 support staff positions.

"This is heartbreaking news to share," read an open letter penned by President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Provost Persis Drell.

The letter said Stanford's athletics department was operating on a deficit projected to exceed $12 million in the 2021 fiscal year and grow steadily in the following years due to increased operating costs. The pandemic has exacerbated the department's financial woes, with a revised forecast accounting for the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis projecting a $25 million deficit for the 2021 fiscal year, the university leaders said.

The sports were selected for elimination based on several factors including cost, interest and the local and national interest in the sport, gender equality, Title IX impact and impact on the diversity of the school's student-athlete population.

"The outpouring of goodwill energized this effort, combined with some truly innovative thinking to get us here," said Adam Keefe, a former men's basketball and volleyball at Stanford who was part of the 36 Sports Strong group. "I can't say thank you enough."

Patch editor Gideon Rubin contributed to this report.