Update: later in the week, head coach David Dent was informed that his assistant coach Meyer Sanchez has been furlowed until July 31st.
Florida Tech University announced on Monday that it was making several cuts to its athletics program, including eliminating its football team.
Florida Tech, which competes in Division II of the NCAA, founded its football team in 2011. The program had 120 players last season, and athletes on scholarship will have those scholarships honored for up to four years.
“The unprecedented uncertainty created by COVID-19 makes these moves prudent, but no less painful,” McCay told the campus community in his letter. “We must do what is necessary to preserve resources critical to our educational mission and ensure our ability to successfully serve students when face-to-face instruction resumes this fall. I appreciate each of you, and I am humbled by your hard work and sacrifice.”
This is the 2nd announced football team to be cut as a result of the economic challenges caused by the global coronavirus pandemic. The other, at Urbana University, was eliminated because the school’s entire physical campus is being closed down. Over 50 athletics programs have been announced as being closed in the last 2 months.
According to Florida Tech head swimming & diving coach David Dent, the school’s aquatics program is safe for now.
“I was shocked when it was announced, it is a huge loss for the Florida Tech community,” Dent said of the announcement. “Their coaches and players worked tirelessly to bring football to a community that didn’t have a collegiate football program. As of right now I am not afraid of our swimming program being cut. We have not been informed of any staff reductions for the swim program.”
The school also announced staff reductions and furloughs and the closure of the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts. The school says that these moves reduce costs and helps the school focus on its core mission of higher education in the fields of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM).
The Florida Tech men’s swimming & diving program finished 6 out of 7 teams and the Florida Tech women’s swimming & diving program finished 7th out of 7 teams at the 2020 Sunshine State Conference Championship meet. The school was represented by Dain Rust and Savannah Brennan at the 2020 NCAA Division II National Championship meet before it was cancelled midway through day 2. Brennan was 18th in her first event, the 1000 free, while Rust was seeded 6th in the 100 breaststroke.
Florida Tech, located in Melbourne, Florida, has almost 7,000 students. The football team finished 5-6 last season. While most of the school’s sports, including swimming, compete in the Sunshine State Conference, football competes in the Gulf South Conference. The team finished 7 out of 9 teams in the conference last year. In 5 home games, the school averaged 1,879 ticketed spectators last season in the 5,000-seat Florida Tech Panther Stadium. The program ends with a 44-35 record all-time with 1 head coach, Steve Englehart, in program history. The Panthers made the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2016 and 2018.
The school has 19 remaining sports programs.
Unless you’re a top D1 team, nearly all football teams are always significantly in the red. Much more than “non-revenue” sports. Before I graduated, I looked up the finances of the athletic department (d3). The last time the football team was actually revenue-producing, was 1964.
Then look at schools like Eastern Michigan. Their football team last had a winning season in 1987 I believe and last year was 1 game above .500; Yet they got brand new turf and locker rooms and an unknown amount of other renovations/uniforms/whatever else. Yet they cut their most successful program in Swim/Dive.
Also look at d2 Tiffin University. Their swim/dive was incredibly profitable; Yet it was cut on the fly just for fun. Don’t… Read more »
If that football team was averaging 1879 people a game, it can’t really be called a revenue sport at that school. High schools draw more than that in many areas. Nice to see swimming avoid the ax for once.
I don’t know if happy is the appropriate word, as the loss of any athletic program inflicts a level of pain to the athletic community, but I am happy to see an AD consider options beyond non revenue sports. Just because some sports have a revenue base does not mean they are able to cover their own expenses. The elimination of football effects a large number of athletes and the elimination of a sport is not something I would wish on anyone but this is a quick cut of expenses. I feel bad for the athletes that have lost their team but thankful to an AD that considered other options beyond non revenue sports.