UDC trustees keep athletics for now, but cut 17 academic programs

WASHIGTON, D.C. -- Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia voted Tuesday night to delay a proposal to disband the school’s intercollegiate sports teams, strongly signaling that they want the school to remain in NCAA Division II athletics. But they approved the end of 17 academic degree programs that have drawn relatively few students.

The proposal from the university’s interim president, James E. Lyons Sr., marked a major effort to reshape the struggling public university. Lyons sought to end participation in NCAA sports, including men’s and women’s basketball. The athletic program cost about $4.1 million in the past fiscal year, more than the $1.1 million it generated in revenue. Lyons said money spent on the Firebirds teams, which have only a handful of athletes from the District, would be better spent on health and wellness programs and intramural athletics available to all students.

But the Board of Trustees voted 7 to 5 to delay action on disbanding sports teams and seek other ways to find savings. Jerome Shelton was one of several trustees who voted against the motion because they said they wanted to cast a clear vote in favor of preserving the athletics program.

“It is critical to the life of a university that there be these types of opportunities,” Shelton said. “Please understand, this is almost a life-or-death question for me.”

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