Student-athletes at Lindenwood University are slamming the way in which the private school in St. Charles, Mo., announced its decision to cut nine NCAA athletic programs.
As reported by St. Louis NBC affililate KSDK, the university said the decision to drop nine of its Division I programs was made after it determined that the athletic department "had become too large to sustain the quality of the student experience Lindenwood expects."
"You just don't understand until you've put your whole life's work into something to get to this point only to have it taken away," said Gayla Griswold, a fifth-year student at Lindenwood and a member of one of the teams — women's gymnastics — on Lindenwood's cut list.
Griswold and her teammates won the USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship in April. It was their fourth national title, having last won the event in 2019.
Before Friday's announcement, Lindenwood sponsored 30 NCAA sports, KSDK's Annie Krall reported.
A statement from the university, said in part "There is no ideal time to announce sports reductions."
"The University felt it was right to let student-athletes know as soon as the decision was final. The timing of this announcement was purposeful to allow student-athletes and coaches to make informed decisions about their future plans," the statement said.
The NCAA sports being cut include:
- Men's Lacrosse
- Men's Swimming and Diving
- Men's Tennis
- Men's Indoor Track & Field
- Men's Outdoor Track & Field
- Men's Wrestling
- Women's Field Hockey
- Women's Gymnastics
- Women's Swimming and Diving
The Lindenwood women's field hockey team was cut effective immediately because it completed its season during the fall semester. All other sports will end by the conclusion of their spring 2024 seasons.
About 284 student-athletes were impacted by the cuts.
In the meeting on Friday announcing which sports would be eliminated, "we were all sitting in an auditorium," transfer sophomore gymnast Reese Baechle said. "An administrator comes out and he read right off a paper. There was no humanity toward this meeting. He read off a paper. He told us within three minutes and 17 seconds that our teams would be cut at the following of this season. Our coaches had no time to talk to recruits. They had no time to talk to us."
Said Griswold, "Within five minutes it was posted everywhere on social media. We were not allowed any time to process anything."
The gymnastics team responded with their own social media video showcasing them back on the mats and practicing just hours after the Friday administration meeting.
"I'm hoping that we could at least have a conversation at Lindenwood," executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association, Mike Moyer, said.
Now that the Lindenwood men's wrestling team has been cut, "there's no doubt that administrators are faced with some really challenging times out there," Moyer said.
"I would rather have this last year with my coaches, my people, my team, put everything we have out on the floor. They're going to have to rip us off that floor at the end of the season," Baechle said. "We're not going without a fight. I can tell you that."
The Lindenwood student-athletes impacted by the cuts will retain their scholarships through their undergraduate years, in addition to the collegiate competitors who have signed letters of intent, KSDK's Krall reported.
