National Collegiate Athletic Association

NCAA News Archive - 2010

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Feb 26, 2010 8:19:05 AM

Seton Hall will eliminate men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field effective July 1. The school will add women's golf.

Officials attributed the restructuring to limited financial resources and a desire to "ensure sustained athletic competitiveness in the Big East Conference."

"This was a difficult choice to make given the history of our track and field programs, but it was a necessary one made in the best interests of Seton Hall athletics on the whole," said Athletics Director Joseph Quinlan. "It is not viable for us to continue to support the number of sports we do at the current level. With this decision, we will reallocate resources to strengthen the university's ongoing sports programs."

Seton Hall completed a comprehensive assessment of the athletics programs, costs and the strategic direction of the department overall before making the decision to restructure. The $1 million annually that supported the track and field programs will be reallocated to the remaining athletics programs.

The school will honor scholarship commitments to current student-athletes. Five coaches and 24 student-athletes will be affected by the change.

Earlier this month, President Robert Sheeran announced a series of steps the school will take to address budget challenges at the school, including a strategic operational and work-force analysis and hiring restrictions, possible layoffs and better control of overtime and stipends.

"Like many universities, Seton Hall has been hit hard by the global economic crisis," Sheeran said. "As a university, we are faced with difficult choices in which we take no joy."

The cuts, when taken with the addition of women's golf, will leave Seton Hall with 14 sports, the NCAA minimum for Division I institutions that do not sponsor football.