ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - University of New Mexico officials say legislators’ attempt to force reinstatement of intercollegiate sports teams for skiing, men’s soccer and women’s beach volleyball would cause funding to be diverted from other parts of the university.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that university President Garnett Stokes contends it is hard to rationalize providing more money for sports in the wake of major cuts in spending on academics in recent years.
A $7 billion spending bill approved by the state House would require UNM to reinstate the sports programs or do without $4.6 million in state funding.
The UNM Board of Regents last year voted to cut the teams to shore up a budget deficit within the university’s athletic department and address compliance issues with federal mandates on equal opportunity for female athletes.
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