After announcing last year it would eliminate 11 varsity sports programs, Stanford reversed course on Tuesday and won't cut any, the school announced.
"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 statement.
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The 11 programs originally slated to be cut included men's and women's fencing, field hockey, men's volleyball, wrestling, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash and synchronized swimming. The Stanford athletic department cited severe financial strains due to the COVID-19 pandemic when the cuts were announced last summer.
“As stated in the FAQ published at the time of the announcement, the decisions to reduce our sport offerings are final," Stanford said in a statement to The Athletic in February.
"The decision to discontinue this particular set of sports programs was based on a thorough analysis that contemplated many factors, including non-financial factors such as the national and regional profile of each sport and the impact on gender equity and Title IX compliance. The reasons this set of sports programs was selected are the same reasons one or a subset of these programs will not be reinstated.”
In the aftermath of the decision last summer, current student-athletes, parents and alumni of Stanford formed the group "36 Sports Strong." The organization aims to represent all 36 varsity sports at the school, including reinstating the 11 that were meant to be eliminated. The group raised $40 million in conditional pledges specifically for the cut programs.
What role did 36 Sports Strong have in this?
Christopher Kamrani, staff writer: Without the grassroots movement of a plethora of former Stanford student-athletes across the 11 proposed cut sports, there's no question Stanford is whittled down to 25 scholarship sports.
With how aggressive the organization was in mobilizing high-profile alumni across the world in such a short amount of time, 36 Sports Strong did not relent. It kept the pressure on the university and the powers-that-be from the start.
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The star-driven names might get headlines, but current student-athletes who were on the chopping block really got this movement off the ground last summer and deserve credit for getting the word out.
Why did Stanford reverse course?
Kamrani: Money talks. And groups of alumni like 36 Sports Strong raised over $40 million in over five months — without the assistance of the university — to give the proposed sports that were going to be eliminated enough runway to self-endow over the next five years.
In the official news release, Stanford athletics said that "structural financial challenges" remain "very real" to the school, but it reversed course eventually because of the galvanization of the philanthropic efforts of those affiliated with the university.
(Photo: Scott Rovak / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)