rutgers alumni step up

[smazza]

Rutgers alums make case to restore dropped sport

Home News Tribune Online 08/30/06

By BOB CONSIDINE

STAFF WRITER

NEW YORK  The Rutgers men's tennis team isn't happy about having their program cut by their university.

So they're seeing to it that some key people at the U.S. Open are seeing Scarlet Red, too.

Rutgers alums Harry Cicma and Chris Kushner have been on hand for the first two days of the tournament, distributing support shirts to players like Vincent Spadea, Justin Gimbelstob, Thomas Blake and Paul Goldstein. The shirts read, "Save Our Sport' with a Rutgers logo near the heart  and Gimelstob and Goldstein have already been seen wearing them around the National Tennis Center.

In July, Rutgers announced it will eliminate men's tennis and five other intercollegiate sports at the end of the 2006-07 school year to cut costs resulting from an $80 million budget shortfall.

"The word is getting around and it's definitely something that's very important to us," said Cicma, who has played doubles on the ATP Tour.

"These players are all sick of seeing men's (college) teams getting cut out. They are really appreciative because college tennis is really the backbone of American Junior Tennis."

Long-time Rutgers assistant tennis coach Bob Stanicki, who plans on being at the U.S. Open later this week, said the shirts were another installment in the team's efforts to bring their case to the public.

"We're just trying to think outside the box and there's no better place to get attention for this then at the U.S. Open," Stanicki said. "We want it known that cutting our team is a significant loss. We need to stir the pot and get the facts out."

The men's tennis team will play this season, but Stanicki is hopeful the sport can be reinstated beyond that after some negotiations with the school, which are still to take place. The team has an annual operating budget of about $150,000, Stanicki says.

"We recognize a need to cut back on the budget and to increase funding," Stanicki added. "We feel that $150,000 in the school's budget is a literal drop in the bucket. And the tennis team is regularly the No. 1 academic team at the college."

The loss of the six sports still leaves Rutgers with 24 varsity sports, tying Connecticut for the most of any program that competes in Division I-A football in the Big East Conference.

Rutgers Athletic Director Robert E. Mulcahy said that eliminating the six sports will save $2 million from the athletic department's budget.

"We want to keep the team running," said Cicma, who has played ranked ATP doubles with partner Greg Schweitzer, another Rutgers alum. "It's not that expensive.

"We're just trying our hardest right now. Everyone is writing letters. Even Martina Navratilova, who hits with us, thinks its bad. We're just going to do whatever we can."