Georgetown, Kay. - Citing financial uncertainty, Georgetown College is making big budget cuts, eliminating jobs and five sports teams in the process.
Athlete students who planned to compete for teams at Georgetown College in the upcoming school year will not have the opportunity to play due to cuts, according to the college.
Now, athletes are asking questions and going to great lengths to save their golf season.
What you need to know
- Georgetown College cancels 5 sports due to financial uncertainty
- Interrupted programs include men’s and women’s university golf, university programs for juniors, men’s and women’s football and archery.
- Scholarships will be awarded later this year for those student-athletes who choose to graduate from Georgetown College
- Based on the lists published on each team’s website, the cuts apply to over 75 athletes
Jake Damron, 21, a member of Georgetown College’s men’s golf team, has just learned - along with dozens of other athletes - that their college player careers have been cut short again.
First, the COVID-19 pandemic forced athletes to leave their seasons. Now, Georgetown College is abolishing a total of five of its athletic teams.
“To say that I had a lot of experience is definitely an understatement and now, after this, it will really diminish the way I look at my college career in an athletic way,” Damron said.
Athletic Director Brian Evans informed student athletes and coaches about the affected sports programs via a zoom call on June 2, 2022.
Programs that are interrupted are men’s and women’s university golf, university programs for juniors, men’s and women’s football and archery.
“It is really difficult for us to understand why this decision was made at our cost,” Damron said.
According to a statement the school posted on social media, the cuts are a small part of a broader restructuring of the school budget. Officials cited rising costs and the need to close the “gap between projected costs and projected revenues”.
A full statement from the school, Vice President of Athletics Brian Evans, reads:
I am very sorry for the injury these cuts inflicted; I want to assure everyone that all the cuts that were part of the budget that were recently approved by the commissioner have now been communicated to those affected, both inside and outside the athletic program.
I am also sorry that we did an inadequate job in communicating these actions to the college community. We have already scheduled discussion meetings for teachers and staff for Monday to discuss all budget decisions, but we did not have a good plan to communicate with students who were not directly affected by the cuts. I have not been able to predict the level of concern and confusion that will result from the cuts of sports teams, and I take full responsibility for that failure.
I want you to freely express your concern directly to me, and I will do my best to respond to every message. However, please don’t be angry if I need to answer everyone by the beginning of next week.
I promise to continue to do what I can to serve the faculty well. I will not always succeed, but I promise to keep trying.
“The college must stay alive, but the answers we received were, honestly, what infuriated us. They were not direct, they were not logical [with us]”Damron explains.
Scholarships will be awarded after this year for those student-athletes who decide to complete their degree at Georgetown College.
Based on the lists posted on each team’s website, the cuts apply to over 75 athletes.
“It’s definitely frustrating for athletes who don’t have a chance to show what they have and all the effort pays off,” Damron added.
Proponents of the men’s golf team and others affected by the cuts have already collected over 1,000 signatures on a change.org petition calling for a return to work.
“This is not just a fight for me to play golf next year. This is a struggle for the school to start making decisions based on students ‘experiences and evaluating students’ opinions, “Damron added.
After all, the college’s latest decision serves as a reminder to future players to value every moment as an athlete, Damron says
“You appreciate every swing, every fall, every stick, whatever sport you play,” he said. “Do your best because you don’t know when it will be taken away from you.”
The budget for men’s and women’s golf is combined with only $ 60,000, according to the assistant coach.
Damron is expected to graduate next spring and plans to go to law school.