U Of MN Cuts Gophers Men's Gymnastics, Track, Tennis

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Gophers men's gymnastics, men's track and field, and men's tennis programs will be cut, University of Minnesota Athletics Director Mark Coyle announced Thursday. The decision is pending approval of the Board of Regents.

The end of the programs comes as the athletics department faces a loss of revenue of $75 million in the current fiscal year alone, a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In August, the Big Ten Conference canceled all fall sports, which means schools will miss out on money from TV contracts.

"Once we determined that we simply are no longer able to sustain 25 sports financially, we reviewed our overall sport offering with an eye toward a sports sponsorship model that would provide sustainable, competitive and equitable participation opportunities for our remaining programs," the university said in a statement.

"We will discontinue men's indoor track and field, men's outdoor track and field, men's gymnastics and men's tennis at the completion of their 2020-21 competition season. Should health and safety precautions allow, these teams will have the opportunity to compete during the 2020-21 season."