Facing a third consecutive year of multi-million dollar budget cuts, Slippery Rock University announced the discontinuance of eight varsity sports Monday.

Field hockey, golf, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's water polo, men's tennis and wrestling will no longer be offered at SRU at the conclusion of the 2005-06 academic year.

The university has been offering 23 varsity sports, tied with West Chester for the most in the 14-member Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

"Participation used to be our focus," SRU athletic director Paul Lueken said. "We had to make some tough decisions today.

"The university has to be fiscally sound. The reality is, athletically, we spread ourselves too thin."

Lueken said the university projects a shortfall of $3 million to $3.5 million next year. In recent years, SRU has cut 15 academic programs and 20 percent of its administrative staff.

"Given moves like that, we couldn't expect the athletic department to remain unharmed," he said.

With these cuts, SRU will offer 15 varsity sports in 2006-07. The average NCAA Division II school offers 14.

In a prepared statement Monday, SRU president Robert Smith said, "Our decision to eliminate programs was driven by the necessity to effectively manage the institution's fiscal resources in a time of significant budgetary constraints without eroding our commitment to quality."

He said the university has been evaluating its athletic program since 2001 through a variety of internal and external committees.

During that period, SRU has grown by 12 percent, serving nearly 1,100 more students.

Criteria used to determine which sports to cut included cost-saving potential, necessary future investment in facilities, financial support of alumni and external sources over the past decade, competitiveness of the teams and academic performance of the athletes.

These cuts will result in an estimated $350,000 reduction in expenditures. There are 122 student-athletes involved in the eight affected sports.

Though not required to do so by the NCAA, the university will honor any scholarship money due these athletes for the remainder of their four-year term at SRU, should they decide to stay.

Lueken estimates half of the athletes affected will transfer to other schools. Any transfers will be eligible to participate in athletics immediately.

"I can see losing maybe one of my players that way," SRU men's tennis coach Matt Meredith said. "Those guys came here to get an education."

Meredith is also SRU's women's tennis coach. Jim Yeamans, coach of the university's swimming and water polo teams, remains employed fulltime by SRU as aquatics director of the Aebersold Recreation Center on campus.

The other affected coaches — Marty Rinker in golf, Derek DelPorto in wrestling and Sergio Gonzalez in field hockey — are interim coaches this year.

"This is a hard day, a sad day," Lueken said. "We will help athletes wishing to transfer in any way we can. But it could have been much worse as far as terminations go."

Still, it's bad enough.

"We had kids lose their dreams today," Yeamans said. "In coaching minor sports, I knew what the risks were. But I'm an optimist. I always hope for the best."

While SRU has enjoyed moderate success in water sports, the condition of the pool in Morrow Field House played a major factor in the decision to discontinue those programs.

The pool is 50 years old and in need of a new heating and ventilation system.

"The concrete is going to erode. The pool itself needs a million dollars in repairs," Lueken said. "I don't know what will become of that pool. That's a decision for the president to make."

DelPorto is the last SRU wrestler to become an All-American. He placed eighth at nationals his senior year and was 116-38 as a Rock wrestler.

"As an alumnus, I'm mad. As a coach, I'm disappointed," DelPorto said. "We were turning the corner. Our kids aren't wrestling for Slippery Rock University anymore. They're wrestling for themselves, for their futures.

"A lot of them will transfer. Most of them are waiting to see where I wind up because they want to follow me. That means a lot."

DelPorto said SRU's wrestling program received $20,000 in scholarship money and "we were competing with and beating fully funded programs."

SRU becomes the first PSAC institution to cut this many sports at one time. Edinboro cut baseball, men's and women's tennis two years ago.

West Chester recently cut men's lacrosse. Mansfield, California (Pa.) and Cheyney have cut wrestling programs recently.

"We used to have a full complement of wrestling programs and now we're down to eight," PSAC commissioner Steve Murray said. "It's disappointing, but it's reality.

"You can't cut academic programs without cutting athletic programs."

Murray also said Slippery Rock's decision to make significant cuts likely wouldn't stand alone in that regard.

"Given the state of the economy, they (SRU) won't be the last school to do this," Murray said. "This is probably just the start of something."