Stanford Athletics Sweat Budget Woes

By Jeff Greer
Posted November 11, 2009 05:09 PM ET

When experts discuss the best athletics departments in the country, Stanford University almost always comes up. The Cardinal produce winners in numerous sports—from men's cross-country, tennis, and water polo to women's cross-country, rowing, and volleyball—not to mention top-flight men's and women's basketball teams.

But amid economic turmoil that has crept up on even the best-endowed athletics programs, Stanford is facing some big decisions. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based university is evaluating whether it can continue to support 35 sports teams, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. The athletics department already made about $8 million in budget cuts and laid off workers, but with the department's endowment slipping, more cuts may come.

"If it can happen to Stanford," Bob Bowlsby, the university's athletic director, tells the Chronicle, "it can happen to anybody."

Only Ohio State University fields more Division I teams than Stanford, which budgets $75 million each year for its teams. But if any upcoming cuts are needed, slashing teams may be a nuclear option for Stanford, the report says.

"I've tried to be as forthright with our coaches as I can," Bowlsby tells the Chronicle. "The discontinuation of sports is, by far, the course of last resort."