ANNAPOLIS, Md., April 18 (UPI) -- Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot called on Towson University President Maravene Loeschke to resign after Loeschke sought to cut school athletic programs.
Franchot said Wednesday at a state Board of Public Works meeting in Annapolis, Md., Loeschke's attempts to eliminate the school's baseball and men's soccer programs represented "a lack of leadership that has done great damage to the school's reputation."
Loeschke announced plans to cut the programs in March, after Towson Athletic Director Mike Waddell made the recommendation, saying the athletic department needed to balance its budget and comply with Title IX, a federal law requiring gender equity in college sports, The Baltimore Sun reported Thursday.
The recommendation was met with complaints led by prominent Towson alumni and current baseball players, who said the department budget deficit under Waddell deficit was created by overspending on the school's basketball and football programs, and that Waddell was using Title IX as a scapegoat to cut the baseball and men's soccer programs, the newspaper said.
