In Monday’s (7-20-2020) print edition of "The Greenville News" there is an article titled "Axed" (i.e. Athletes, coaches move on after sports see cuts by Aria Gerson USA TODAY). If this article has already been quoted in this forum, my apology. The article talks about colleges cutting out sports. A couple of Furman baseball players and the head coach were quoted. Below (from the article) is some information from the head coach.
“When Furman University baseball coach Brett Harker heard his program was being cut, he was shocked. Harker knew Furman was having budget issues. He’d already discussed reducing the number of scholarships on the team next year. But he didn’t expect the program to be axed. “In the moment, it was so surreal,” Harker told USA TODAY Sports. “And it’s one thing if you get fired or something bad happens, but for an entire program to be there one day and be such an established program like we have … if we’re not one of the most surprising cuts in the country, I’d like for somebody to tell me who is.”
"Looking for hope - For Harker, coaching at Furman wasn’t a steppingstone to a larger school. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and had made plans on how to build the program in his hometown. Over the course of one Zoom call, that was taken away. Furman has committed to paying Harker’s salary for the next academic year, so he plans to use that time to do the improbable: raise enough money to bring his team back. Some schools that cut sports programs later brought them back – most notably, Bowling Green reinstated baseball after a round of fundraising. But at Furman, it will not be that simple. “We’re right in the middle of negotiations on what that would look like, what bringing it back would look like, and does it need to be endowed, because a place like Bowling Green raised $500,000 with $1.5 million promised over the next three years,” Harker said. “If that’s all we were looking for, Furman would be up and running within 24 hours.”
“When Furman University baseball coach Brett Harker heard his program was being cut, he was shocked. Harker knew Furman was having budget issues. He’d already discussed reducing the number of scholarships on the team next year. But he didn’t expect the program to be axed. “In the moment, it was so surreal,” Harker told USA TODAY Sports. “And it’s one thing if you get fired or something bad happens, but for an entire program to be there one day and be such an established program like we have … if we’re not one of the most surprising cuts in the country, I’d like for somebody to tell me who is.”
"Looking for hope - For Harker, coaching at Furman wasn’t a steppingstone to a larger school. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and had made plans on how to build the program in his hometown. Over the course of one Zoom call, that was taken away. Furman has committed to paying Harker’s salary for the next academic year, so he plans to use that time to do the improbable: raise enough money to bring his team back. Some schools that cut sports programs later brought them back – most notably, Bowling Green reinstated baseball after a round of fundraising. But at Furman, it will not be that simple. “We’re right in the middle of negotiations on what that would look like, what bringing it back would look like, and does it need to be endowed, because a place like Bowling Green raised $500,000 with $1.5 million promised over the next three years,” Harker said. “If that’s all we were looking for, Furman would be up and running within 24 hours.”
