Statement from UW-Green Bay and Athletics Director: Change in sports sponsorship, furloughs due to COVID-19
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and its Athletic Department will be suspending its men's and women's tennis programs indefinitely at the conclusion of the 2019-20 academic year. Initial consideration of the change was made following standard financial reviews of UW-Green Bay's 16 sports programs that occur regularly between the Athletic Director and University leadership. The final decision to suspend sponsorship of the tennis programs was based on several ongoing challenges hindering the growth of the program, as well as the current financial constraints placed on Green Bay Athletics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Program Challenges
Several long-standing challenges facing the men's and women's tennis program have continued to hinder the opportunity for growth of the program and have contributed to rising costs outpacing revenue, the most significant being the lack of an on-campus tennis facility for student-athletes. In order to practice and compete, members of the tennis team are required to travel over 20 miles off campus and the logistics of managing a fully off-campus competitive experience have continued to pose risks for student-athlete safety, have made successful recruiting difficult and has led to year-over-year increases in operational costs.
Impact of the Suspension
The suspension of the program will impact four (4) women's tennis student-athletes, four (4) men's tennis student-athletes and one full-time head coach. The University and head coach Robert Oertel will work closely with the student-athletes as they make decisions to continue academically at UW-Green Bay or other institutions. Coach Oertel will be on staff until May 31, 2020.
Based on past expenditures, the suspension of these two programs will financially impact approximately $170,000 operationally per year and $160,000 in athletic tuition scholarships awarded per year. With this change, UW-Green Bay will retain a total of 14 sports, the minimum required for non-football playing institutions at the NCAA Division I level, including eight women's sports and six men's sports, each of which compete at the NCAA D1 level: basketball, cross country, golf, Nordic ski, soccer, softball, swimming and diving and volleyball. Sponsorship at this level is required to maintain membership within the guidelines set forth by the Horizon League and NCAA Division I.
Athletics Department COVID-19 Update
The UW-Green Bay athletic department will abide by UW System policy guidelines specific to COVID-19 impact on personnel decisions such as furloughs. Specific details on athletic department furloughs is not being released at this time. General information on furloughs can be found here.
In addition, Green Bay athletics is collaborating closely with the Horizon League and NCAA to proactively plan and align with decisions being made at the conference and NCAA level.
For more information, view our Q&A document regarding this information.
