To the editor:
Did I get this right? Two varsity sports have been axed so that the $401,895 from men's swimming and $251,625 from men's tennis can be spent to purchase a new PA system for Allen Fieldhouse (to cost between $250,000 and $400,000) and give the KU football coaches whose losing teams have cost the KU athletic program badly needed revenue salary raises totalling $200,000. This is justified because 1) "many fans had difficulty hearing the speeches of KU's three senior men's basketball players on Sunday, despite the fact that KU bought a new mixer last year" and 2) Bob Frederick "is optimistic football will be more of a cash cow in five years," during which time the budget for KU football is projected to rise from $4.4 million to $6.7 million.
Cutting men's swimming and tennis will have a long-lasting and perhaps permanent effect on these sports at pre-college levels throughout the state of Kansas. This includes dashing the hopes of budding Aquahawk champions and the young men who will be perfecting their strokes at Lawrence High and in Lawrence's new indoor pool near Free State High. If they want to continue competitive swimming in college, they can forget about doing it at KU. Aspiring tennis stars will also have to go somewhere else. Knowing this makes it hard to think about cheering.
John W. Hoopes,
Lawrence
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