Cincinnati State Suspends All Sports Except Soccer

Cincinnati State Technical and Community College will field only two varsity sports this year — men’s and women’s soccer — as the institution looks for financial efficiencies, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

“We aren’t dropping sports teams or eliminating athletics,” the college’s president, Monica Posey, said. “We’re going through a transition.”

Last year, Cincinnati State fielded teams in six varsity sports. The four that will be suspended for the 2017-18 season are men’s and women’s basketball, men’s golf, and women’s volleyball.

The decision to suspend the four teams was part of a broad plan of restructuring brought about by budgetary constraints. The college has struggled with declines in enrollment and tuition revenue over the past five years.

Sonya Beeler, who was recently let go as women’s basketball coach, told the Enquirer that coaches were notified in October 2016 that all teams would be transitioning from Division I to Division III, which means no athletic scholarships will be awarded. The college fired the coaches in May, Ms. Beeler said.

Cincinnati State says it expects to restore the teams next year and is working on a plan for athletics that will focus on more local recruiting, regional competition, and hiring part-time instead of full-time coaches. Ms. Posey said the college values athletes as part of its student body. “Our goal is to support them and work closer with the local high schools to continue to recruit students.”