The ASUI Senate voted to pass a resolution calling on the University of Idaho and the Idaho State Board of Education to refrain from eliminating women’s soccer, women’s swim and dive and men’s golf from the UI Athletic Department.
The resolution calls upon both UI and the State Board to find alternative ways of cutting costs that do not involve cutting the programs.
Miles Whitling, ASUI director of athletics, said a petition with the same goal circulating campus had received roughly 9,000 signatures.
“So, I don’t have a fancy speech for this, the women’s soccer team, women’s swim and dive and men’s golf are Vandals. They are students here and they’ve worked so hard,” Whitling said.
ASUI Senators offered support, excluding Sen. Jesse Smith, who abstained from voting because he said he felt he did not have enough information on the matter.
ASUI President McKenzie MacDonald said higher education institutions are only allowed to spend a certain amount of money on their athletic departments.
MacDonald said athletic departments are also not allowed to run a deficit over a certain number of years, and the university had received a waiver for this last year.
“During that time, you have to come up with some options on how you’re going to fix your financing. One of those options was the elimination of sports, which is obviously a really unfortunate situation all around. You don’t want to be eliminating student opportunity,” MacDonald said.
MacDonald said the State Board will also vote on the student fees recommendations, which will propose a 6.6 percent overall tuition and fee increase.
MacDonald said UI President Chuck Staben proposed the State Board re-evaluate how higher education institutions spend their money.
ASUI will vote on bills to remove gendered language from the ASUI Rules and Regulations and a bill to allow student-led organizations to gain temporary ex-officio membership April 18.
Kali Nelson can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @kalinelson6