UTEP Eliminates Women's Tennis Citing Budget and Facility Constraints

The University of Texas El Paso announced last week that it will cut its women’s tennis program due to budget constraints. An all too common trend in the face of revenue sharing, NIL and other unprecedented changes to college sports has come to the Lone Star State. UTEP joins Sonoma State, Bryn Athyn College and San Francisco State, among others, in cutting some or all athletics.

“As college athletics continues to undergo unprecedented change, the decision will enable UTEP to allocate additional resources to its remaining 16 sports programs, ensuring their long-term viability,"  the school said in a statement published by the El Paso Times.

UTEP noted that the university does not have an on-campus tennis facility, nor does the university have the budget to build one. For the seven student-athletes currently on the tennis team, UTEP has committed to honoring their scholarships should they choose to stay at the university. The coaching staff is also being retained through the end of their contracts.

The NCAA requires all FBS schools to maintain at least 16 athletic programs. The Miners will continue to maintain their football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, track and field, golf, beach volleyball, soccer and cross country teams.

UTEP athletic director Jim Senter said, “We made this decision following a thoughtful analysis and with a heavy heart. Our women’s tennis student-athletes have represented the university in a first-class manner for over 40 years and have often set the standard for academic achievement among all our sports programs. We are so grateful to head coach Ivan Fernandez and associate head coach Joanna Furdyna for all the hard work that they have put in leading this program and mentoring our student-athletes.”

The last time UTEP canceled an athletics program was in 1999 when it cut the men’s tennis team.