Posted by SparkyLA on May 13, 08 at 17:25:31:
Hard to say if this will come to anything, but at least they're open to it. Would have been good to include this in the initial statement but glad to see there could be hope.
(cut from azrepublic):
If there is enough outside financial support for one or more of the sports being cut to be fully endowed, it could be reinstated.
"There's a hope that those who are very close to and dedicated to the programs that have been discontinued might be willing to endow that program," Love said.
"But we can't operate a program in a vague space. It's not fair to student-athletes, it's not fair to recruits, and it's not fair to coaching. We're either in because the department is funding it or we're in because it's fully funded through a donor endowment campaign and we can operate the program self sustaining. But we can't operate in a space in the middle."
Stephen Ponder, ASU senior associate athletic director, is working to come up with how much money would be necessary to fully endow a sport. That cost would be in the millions. "The championing of a campaign more likely would be outside of the department," Love said. "We would facilitate assistance."
ASU said the cost of endowing the discontinued programs would be $5 million for men's tennis, $5 million for men's swimming, $8 million for wrestling.