ºÙºÙÊÓƵ

SACRAMENTO — Chancellor Linda Katehi testified at a Capitol hearing the night of July 12 that her recent decision to eliminate four of 27 sports at ºÙºÙÊÓƵ is final.

"The loss of four sports on our campus is a very real, very significant and very personal impact of the budget cuts imposed on the ºÙºÙÊÓƵ campus by the crisis in California and the resulting financial position of the University of California," Katehi said.

However, she testified, "the decision is done."

Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter (Kern County), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Gender Discrimination and Title IX Implementation, called the hearing in response to constituents' complaints about the decision.

The university announced April 16 that it would discountinue women's rowing, men's wrestling, men's swimming and diving, and men's indoor track and field — effective July 1 — to help meet a $2.4 million budget reduction for Intercollegiate Athletics in 2010-11 and eliminate a $1.4 million deficit by 2013-14.

Athletics Director Greg Warzecka said the painful cutting of the four teams will reduce costs by about $5 million over five years.

ºÙºÙÊÓƵ is working to resolve an unprecedented state budget shortfall of $228 million for three years, including 2010-11.

Florez questioned whether ºÙºÙÊÓƵ had violated core principles that have guided the development of intercollegiate athletics at ºÙºÙÊÓƵ. One principle says ºÙºÙÊÓƵ cannot reduce its broad-based program, but rather must seek to add sports.

"There is philosophy, and there is reality," Katehi said.

At the time the principles were developed, she said, "no one had any idea that the budget of the university would be cut this drastically."

Katehi said she would like some outside impartial group to review the core principles and provide some advice and guidance as to whether these principles could hold up over time.

More than 100 people, many of them student-athletes and their parents, attended the six-hour hearing, which lasted until midnight.

Florez — the only lawmaker on the dais — directed more than three hours of questioning to Katehi and Warzecka; Fred Wood, vice chancellor of Student Affairs; Kelly Ratliff, associate vice chancellor for budget and institutional analysis; and Steve Drown, campus counsel.

The senator then gave the floor to a panel of student-athletes and ASUCD President Jack Zwald. Following comments by the student panel, audience members were given time to testify.

Florez said he regards the process the university used to arrive at its decision to discontinue the four sports as "flawed," and said he planned to hold a follow-up hearing, probably on the ºÙºÙÊÓƵ campus.

On the Web

A UC Davis News & Information offers complete coverage of the athletics cuts. Newly added to the website: Katehi's and Warzecka's prepared remarks from the July 12 Senate committee hearing.