Dartmouth lightweight men's rowing has become the sixth rowing program to be cut this summer, following Ohio Wesleyan, North Park, UConn, and the Stanford heavy men and light women yesterday.
According to a release, "The teams to be eliminated, effective immediately, are men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's golf, and men's lightweight rowing, dropping to 30 the number of varsity teams. A total of about 110 student-athletes participate on these five teams."
More from the release:
The full release from Dartmouth: Dartmouth Announces Changes to Varsity Athletics Program.
More info:
The release states that lowering participation levels across all sports was discussed before a decision was instead made to eliminate sports.
"While the elimination of teams is the most painful option, I agree that this approach is in the best long-term interest of both athletics and Dartmouth," Dartmouth president Philip Hanlon said.
The release states that "In deciding which teams to eliminate, Sheehy's team reviewed a series of factors in assessing the experiences of student-athletes and the contributions teams make to the community. These included the ability to provide a high-quality student-athlete experience; community-building power; history and tradition of success and the potential for future success; the quality of facilities in relation to Dartmouth's peers; national participation at high-school and college levels; Dartmouth's geography and climate; and the level of investment required to ensure future competitive success in sports in which Dartmouth is not now experiencing success."
In a letter to Dartmouth students, Hanlon wrote that "Lightweight rowers are, however, eligible to try out for the men's heavyweight team. A number of talented lightweight rowers have transitioned to rowing for the heavyweight crew over the years."