University of Regina axes men’s volleyball, wrestling teams

The University of Regina has axed three of its sports teams indefinitely.

As of Monday, men’s and women’s wrestling, as well as men’s volleyball, will no longer continue.

A review from January 2017 had various consultations with external experts, along with internal members of the university, members of community-based sport governing associations/partners and student athletes.

Harold Riemer, the university’s dean of kinesiology and health studies, said they reviewed a few things before making the final decision.

“One is community support, investment on the part of the community on those particular programs, and then certainly the ability to recruit good players,” he listed.

Riemer added there are no plans to review these cuts at a later date.

“We came to a point where we just said, ‘either we’re going to do this or we’re not going to do this,’ so to come back after a year and say, ‘well, we’ve changed our mind,’ that’s not fair to anybody,” he explained.

“As long as the student athlete is either enrolled at the university, they graduate or they finish their eligibility,” Riemer noted these cuts will not affect their scholarships.

By eliminating three of the university’s 16 sports teams, two full-time coaching positions and a term contract position will not be renewed.

“This has nothing to do with the provincial budget — this is an internal program decision,” Reimer said, noting the faculty did, however, look at its own internal budget.

The University of Regina saw a five per cent decrease in funding during the 2017-18 provincial budget. The funding cut was not restored in the April 10 budget as it remained status quo for the institution.

“The costs associated with athletics have continued to rise for as long as I’ve been in this roll — and even before. The review team called attention to the fact that continuing with 16 teams is not sustainable into the future,” Reimer said.

In time, he noted scratching the three teams could potentially save the faculty between $350,000 to $500,000.