FAIRFIELD, Conn., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Fairfield University will eliminate football and men's ice hockey, beginning with the 2003-04 academic year.
The school's president, Aloysius P. Kelley, made that announcement on Thursday, and will reduce the number of varsity athletic programs for men and women at the school to 19.
Kelley said the action to eliminate the two varsity sports was a financial decision during annual budget preparations by the university's senior administration, and endorsed by the Board of Trustees.
"Decisions such as this are always difficult, and our first concern is for those student-athletes, coaches, and other personnel who will be affected directly by it," he said. "The university will honor commitments made to those individuals, and will assist them in every way possible."
Fairfield competed on the Division I-AA level in football and Division I in hockey.
The football program did not offer athletic grants-in aid. The four grants designated for the ice hockey program will be redistributed among other sports programs.
"This is a decision that will give us a greater opportunity to maintain our ambitious goals in the area of Division I intercollegiate athletics while strengthening the resources we need to meet our primary mission of educating young men and women," Kelley said.
