Western Illinois has eliminated men’s and women’s swimming and diving due to budget cuts. The move impacts 23 student-athletes on partial scholarships in 2008-09. The school will continue to offer scholarships at the same level, and the school will assist student-athletes wishing to transfer.

The team was without a head coach.

“This was a difficult decision made after much analysis and evaluation across campus,” said Athletics Director Tom Van Alstine. “We are committed to maintaining a successful broad-based, gender-neutral athletics program, and this move will economically allow us to continue that commitment. As a department we have been working through a very difficult budget situation for some time now, and unfortunately we have been forced to make some hard sacrifices.”

The scholarships will be reallocated into existing sport programs as they become available. Van Alstine stressed that gender equity was not a consideration and that the school is committed to ensuring that current student-athletes graduate.

The school last cut wrestling and field hockey in 1985, but added women’s soccer and reinstated women’s golf in the last 12 years. Western Illinois is taking other cost-cutting measures as well, including reducing printed materials and team travel.