Elimination of Loyola volleyball program leaves bitter taste (ONLINE EXTRA!)

By Amanda Fletcher

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

WESTCHESTER, Calif. ““ Loyola Marymount University
announced last Friday that it is cutting its men’s volleyball
program.

LMU athletic director Dr. William Husak attributes the decision
to the high cost of keeping the team competitive in the Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation, the conference that NCAA champion UCLA
is in.

“There are operational budgets, salaries, paying enough to
keep a good coach,” Husak said. “We felt that we could
take the money and reallocate to make other programs
better.”

“I can’t really say that I’m surprised,”
said UCLA head men’s volleyball coach Al Scates. “When
athletic departments run short on money, men’s sports are in
jeopardy.”

Both the men’s volleyball programs at Cal State Northridge
and San Diego State have come under similar scrutiny in recent
years.

In the case of Northridge, however, the team was able to raise
enough money to eventually bring the program back. SDSU’s
program, which was cut April 4 this year, and once before in 1983,
must raise $1 million by Aug. 1 to reinstate the team.

“It’s not unique to our school,” said SDSU
assistant director of media relations Dave Khun. “If it comes
down to cutting a men’s or a women’s sport it will be
the men under the current conditions in gender equality.”

SDSU has raised a little more than half a million for the
program so far.

At LMU the issue of eliminating the program had been raised
twice before in the last 10 years. This decision is one that
affects teams across the nation. With fewer than 50 NCAA teams,
men’s volleyball has been reduced to a club sport at most
schools.

“We’re lucky to have as many teams as we do,”
Scates said. “There are about 300 club teams but many have
zero chance of becoming a NCAA sport in the current
climate.”

The decision to disband the team follows the recent resignation
of Rick McLaughlin, head coach of LMU men’s volleyball for
the last eight seasons.

This past season was LMU’s best in the last 11 years. Not
only did they defeat the Bruins for the first time in history on
April 5, but the Lions also knocked out No. 1 seed Long Beach State
in the first round of the MPSF playoffs.

The decision came as a surprise to LMU athletes, considering the
sport’s popularity on campus.

Junior men’s volleyball player Lucas Wisniakowski was
wide-eyed when he heard the news.

“Holy Jesus Christ. Are you serious?” he asked.

The elimination of the program didn’t make sense to other
athletes, either.

“I’m actually really upset,” junior
women’s soccer player Heather Nelson said. “My friend
Danny hasn’t played because of some seniors and now he
won’t even get a chance.”

Sophomore teammate Kerri Tanksley was equally baffled.

“There are so many teams here that I don’t see how
spreading out that money will help all that much.

“It was one of our best programs. They were supposed to be
really good next year,” Tanksley added.

But Husak insists that despite its popularity, sacrificing
volleyball would be beneficial to the athletic programs as a
whole.

“If you look at our history we’ve never had a
winning team,” Husak said. “Although last season was
our best, we were still 12-12 with five out of six seniors, and no
recruits coming in.

“Our prospects for success were not good.”

Though athletes are still guaranteed their scholarships for a
year after a program is cut, most players, like Wisniakowski, will
try to get on another team. But playing for another school
won’t remove the bitter taste that this decision has put in
his mouth.

“It just makes you realize how important winning is when
it comes to business,” Wisniakowski said.