(Photo: Albert Cesare / The Enquirer)
John Cunningham, the Director of Athletics at the University of Cincinnati, announced the school will discontinue its men's soccer program, effective immediately, on Tuesday.
The financial uncertainty caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic played a role in ending the program, Cunningham said, but it wasn't the only reason. He recently reviewed the long-term budget implications of the athletics department and the decision to cut the men's soccer program was determined late last week.
Cunningham said the school will not discontinue any other sports programs.
"The coronavirus kind of allowed me to take a step back and look at the entire picture of our athletics department and what we could manage in terms of the number of student-athletes that we support," Cunningham told The Enquirer in a phone interview Tuesday.