Weathering the Storm

In 1991-92, an ill wind blew through Ivy League athletics.

As the nation's economy remained in recession, universities continued scaling back their budgets to contend with the rough times.

Athletic departments across the nation were hit particularly hard. Even in the Ivy League, where institutions are known for their hefty endowments, sports programs were slashed.

Harvard, however, has managed to weather the storm without cutting a single varsity, JV or freshman program. To save money, the department is reducing budgets across the board, spending less money on transportation and travelling expenses and encouraging coaches to seek outside funding.

Ivy Blues

Most Ivy schools have opted for slash-and-burn tactics. Last fall, Yale cut funding for varsity wrestling, varsity water polo and junior varsity ice hockey. Brown followed suit, cutting its women's gymnastics program.

Students at the two schools are fighting back. The Yale wrestling team is filing a class-action suit the university, claiming breach of contract. And the Brown women's gymnastics team is suing its school, arguing that the university's cuts favor men's programs. Both cases have yet to be resolved.

Harvard, in contrast, is tightening its belt with less commotion.

Athletic Director William J. Cleary '56 has vowed not to cut any of Harvard's 40 varsity programs. But he is trying to buck a national trend.

"Within my power, I will do everything possible to maintain the programs we have," Cleary says. "I don't see that we're going to have to cut any."

He says he has a personal commitment to insuring that the athletic department provides opportunities for students at all levels of competition JV and varsity.

"Other schools have cut whole programs," Cleary says. "We haven't even cut our JV's. This is one of the great experiences kids can have. I'm not going to take it away from them."

There's clearly a will, but is there a way?

Trimming the Fat

Harvard's athletic budget is approximately $9.5 million, a number far less than rival universities such as Standord, which spends a whopping $21 million, according to Cleary.

Harvard's budget is relatively lean, but the University has mandated that all Faculty of Arts and Sciences departments cut their budgets by 4 percent, according to Francis Toland, assistant athletic director and business manager. Toland says his department is meeting those demands.

"We rarely fly anymore," Toland says. "We purchased two vans, because chartering buses is very expensive."

Other plans include sleeping athletes three to a room on the road, charging the Harvard non-student community for use of the MAC and scheduling opponents closer to home to reduce travelling expenses.

"We're looking through every facet of the budget to see what we can do without penalizing people," Cleary says. "I'm going to look at all the programs."

Bleak Future?

For now, Cleary's vision remains a reality, but there is a distinct possibility that more budget cuts are on the way. In that case, the athletic department may have to consider cutting personnel and making teams rely on outside funding.

The bulk of an athletic department's budget goes towards coaches' salaries. Most schools choose to provide large funding for certain coaches, thus limiting the number of overall varsity programs they can sponsor.

Harvard subscribes to a different philosophy, Cleary says.

"There's something wrong [with other schools' practices]," Cleary says. "While we want to get the best possible coaching, our motto is 'Athletics for All' and we spend accordingly."

But many question how long Harvard can continue to provide high quality coaching without sacrificing programs.

One solution offered by Toland is the hiring of part-time and volunteer coaches.

"The cost is the people," Toland says. "We have a part-time coach for the freshman football team, and the trend is probably heading that way."

The other major trend is to pressure programs to raise money themselves.

The athletic department has an extensive "Friends" endowment network for each team. The list of alumni and willing donors in often the first step for a tea seeking to raise money.

This, of course, is the coaches' preferred method to beating the budget crunch.

Harvard Wrestling Coach Jim Peckham has seen what has happened to his colleagues at Yale, and has elected to build a wrestling endowment.

Peckham says he has held two or three meetings with alumni, one as recently as last week, trying to develop and implement a long-range plan to create a secure financial base for his team.

"The reality of today's market is that your dollar just doesn't go as far," Peckham says.

Outside funding, he says, is essential to build a national-caliber program.

"We could maintain a level of wrestling here ad infinitum under the Harvard budget," Peckham says. "But if you want to enhance a program, you have to think seriously about raising money."

Men's Volleyball Coach Ishan Gurdal agrees.

"We're almost self-sufficient," Gurdal says. "We do as much fundraising as we can within NCAA regulations."

But even Gurdal admits to feeling a small squeeze.

"We take better care of our balls," Gurdal says. "We can't be as frivolous with them."

Fortunately for Harvard, the coaches and the athletic department are in agreement. There is no kicking and screaming over inadequate funding, but a realization that the times are changing.

Coaches say they have faith that Cleary will do his best to maintain all existing athletic programs. No officials in the athletic department, Gurdal and Peckham say, have suggested that programs will be cut.

Even Nancy Nitardy, the coach of Harvard's youngest varsity sport, women's water polo, says her program seems secure.

"I don't think the program is in jeopardy at all," Nitardy says.

But optimism among the administration is guarded.

"Every school is cutting sports," Cleary says. "We dont't want to. But someday, the gun might be turned upon us, and we'd have to do something. We've been lucky so far."

"I don't know what's going to happen if the axe falls and says, 'X' hundred thousand dollars have to go," Toland says.

Toland is preparing a plan for the worst-case scenario. But, he says, extenuating circumstances prevent random cuts in budgets.

The school must always insure that it is in compliance with NCAA regulations concerning equal funding and participation for men's and women's athletic programs.

"With all this gender and equity business, we can't just drop sports. I can't tell if the programs are safe. Chances are, though, maybe we'll go after the JV's first," Toland says.

"Our goal is to keep as many teams as possible, but I can't forecast the future," Cleary says. "It's like a jigsaw puzzle out there: you have to try to fit the pieces in the puzzle to keep the programs. Because, after all, that's what we're in business for: the programs. It's for the kids."