FDU going against the norm, adding sports, not axing

TEANECK, N.J. (AP) — Brad Hurlbut took over as the athletic director at Fairleigh Dickinson in 2019, planning to increase the number of sports played at the small Division I school a short ride from New York City.

In a little over two years, Hurlbut has taken his first step, announcing last month that men's volleyball will be added in 2021-22 and women's lacrosse would follow the next year. The additions will give private school in northeast New Jersey 21 sports.

So while it wasn't unexpected, the timing was.

It happened when many schools and universities have cut sports programs in the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The most recent data from The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show a 4.4% decrease in undergraduate enrollment this fall over the year before. Public, four-year universities are down 1.9%, private, four-year universities are down 2.1% and two-year colleges are down 9.5%.

Sports has been hit hard in many places. Through Jan. 19, The Associated Press found some 285 NCAA and NAIA athletic teams had been eliminated because of budget cuts or school closures. Some of the schools cutting programs included Stanford, Clemson, Minnesota, Fresno State, Iowa and Connecticut.

Games and matches have been held in mostly empty arenas and stadiums, drastically reducing ticket revenue. Professional and college leagues have had to deal with daily testing, postponements and cancellations, the biggest in college being the decision not to hold the money-making NCCA tournaments a year ago. It's the lifeblood for many schools.

Hurlbut says FDU President Christopher Capuano, a proponent of sports expansion, gave him an odd look when he told him it was time to expand.

“He wanted to see the economics behind it,” Hurlbut said.

The spreadsheet...