Farewell, UW-La Crosse Baseball and Men's Tennis

You know, I'm really getting sick and tired of this whole economy in the crapper thing. Too many people I know are struggling to find work, and others have either recently lost their jobs or are in fear of getting the pink slip. Rarely is it due to performance either, but rather simply the bottom line, as companies just can't afford to maintain the staff size they used to.

The problem is hitting schools and universities pretty hard as well, the latest being my Alma mater of UW-La Crosse. As of last Friday, the UW-La Crosse Eagles baseball team no longer exists, even though it's been a staple of the school since 1939. The program has been terminated immediately, along with men's tennis in a cost-cutting move to save the school $60,000.

I'm not mad at the school for cutting these programs, I trust the chancellor when he says this is something he didn't want to do. But it's disappointing to see that this had to happen, not just because what it says about the economy, but more because of the ties I have with these programs.

Many of my friends and even a couple of my roommates spent at least some time in the baseball program during school, and going to their games was a good way to kill a Wednesday afternoon. When I worked as a sports videographer, I was on the college baseball beat, and really had a good time watching and shooting the games. Several of my friends were on the tennis team as well, and I'm waiting to hear what they all think of this news.

The move means that only six teams in the WIAC still have a baseball program, which is terrible. Baseball is a wonderful sport, and I wish I didn't suck at it as early as second grade (I was a catcher... in T-Ball). But college kids should have the chance to play it, especially at the D3 level. Hell, even at the D1 level for that matter. It really amazes me that UW-Madison doesn't even have a team at this point.

It's a tough situation for the students and the coaches that have dedicated their time to the program, especially to any kids who went to the school because of baseball. Hopefully they'll able to transfer and keep playing either baseball or tennis, and hopefully this economy garbage is over with soon so that mediocre college baseball and average college tennis can be a staple at UW-Lax once again.