Citing budget concerns and the economic downturn, Tennessee-Martin Athletics Director Phil Dane announced the school will eliminate the men’s tennis program at the end of the 2009 spring season.

“Primarily due to the high cost of out-of-state scholarships and the relatively small roster size, we have decided to suspend our men’s tennis program indefinitely,” Dane said. “We would have preferred to maintain the program at a reduced scholarship level, but we could not compete respectably in our conference unless other Ohio Valley Conference members did likewise. We sought that cooperation, but could not get support from a majority of the members.”

Dane said suspending a women’s sport was not considered because of Title IX requirements. Cutting men’s tennis saved the most money while impacting the least number of student-athletes, he said. Some of the cost savings seen from the move will be reallocated to the women’s program.

While we deeply regret this decision, this is the best time to make the decision because the current team has three senior members who will be able to complete their tennis eligibility at UT Martin,” Dane said. “The remaining members will be retained at their current scholarship level until they graduate from UT Martin or transfer to another institution.”