Stanford isn't cutting any sports, after all.
10 months after announcing plans to cut 11 varsity sports following the 2020-21 athletic season, Stanford has reportedly reversed course and is reinstating all 11 teams it previously planned to cut.
The sports previously slated to be cut were men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball and wrestling. All 11 will now be reinstated.
Stanford is expected to formally announce the news on Tuesday afternoon.
When it announced its initial decision to cut the sports back in July, Stanford explained in an open letter that its model for supporting 36 varsity sports was not sustainable, with a projected deficit of more than $12 million in 2021, and that "the COVID-19 pandemic and associated recession have only exacerbated the gap."
With these 11 varsity teams remaining, Stanford will continue to sponsor 36 varsity sports. The only athletic program in the country that sponsors more is Ohio State, which currently has 37.
