Baseball and men’s tennis teams at Wisconsin-La Crosse attracted enough donor support to ensure continued sponsorship by the school through 2009-10, and those programs are now turning their attention to achieving longer-term security.

Chancellor Joe Gow said in a statement this week that both teams raised enough in donations to compensate coaches and pay “minimal expenses” during the coming year. Earlier this summer, Gow announced discontinuation of the programs, then gave alumni and families seeking an opportunity to raise private donations for the teams until September 1 to “see what might be possible.”

Gow said the baseball program had raised $38,927 and the tennis program had raised $16,850, prompting the decision Tuesday to maintain the teams through the coming year.

“While we wish economic conditions had not forced us to end university funding for baseball and men’s tennis, I’m sure you’ll agree it is inspiring to see just what can be done by the people so committed to these two sports,” Gow said in the statement, which singled out baseball coach Chris Schwarz and tennis coach Bill Hehli, as well as former baseball coach Bill Terry, for their efforts.

Gow was among donors to the programs, contributing $1,000.

Hehli told the La Crosse Tribune the tennis program likely must raise $175,000 by next spring to continue the tennis program beyond 2009-10. Earlier this summer, Athletics Director Joe Baker told the newspaper the baseball program likely would need to raise between $350,000 and $375,000.

Officials have said the programs will need to obtain five years’ funding to be considered “stable.”

“I want our players to commit to keep (raising money) as if nothing has happened,” Hehli told the newspaper. “I don’t want to say we’re done because we’re not done.

“No matter what we’ve raised today or what we raise in a month, it’s not going to be enough. We can’t afford to take too many days off. I don’t want to save the program for just a year.”

Swartz told the newspaper his program has taken an important first step.

“All this time I had a good feeling about what would happen,” he said. “To see it happen, and to know (Chancellor Gow) wrote a letter saying we’re good to go, yeah, a weight has definitely been lifted.”

Zach Thiel, a cousin of two members of the Eagles baseball team, started a Web site to raise funds for the team.

“Unfortunately, our work is not done yet, as we still need to continue to raise funds for the long-term existence of the baseball program,” he said in a message posted Tuesday night on the site. “So please stay tuned.”

A similar Web site exists to raise funds for men’s tennis.

Golf tournaments are scheduled August 23 to raise funds for tennis and September 19 to benefit baseball.