Cincinnati Discontinues Men's Soccer in 'Long-Term Interests' of Athletic Dept.

University of Cincinnati athletic director John Cunningham announced Tuesday that the school elected to discontinue its men's soccer program that has been competing since 1973, per Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

"This was a difficult decision, but one made with the long-term interests of UC Athletics at the forefront. During this time of profound challenges and widespread uncertainty, I have engaged in a comprehensive and thorough review of UC's sport offerings and long-term budget implications of supporting the number of student-athletes currently at UC."

All players on the team are allowed to transfer to other schools with immediate eligibility, and scholarships for those who stay at the University of Cincinnati will be honored until those players have graduated.

The Bearcats were just 5-11-1 last season and 385-408-84 in the program's history. Head coach Hylton Dayes resigned March 13.

"We had no idea it was coming," sophomore Will Lonneman said of Tuesday's decision, per Scott Springer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. "It was awful."

Sophomore Ben Wendell was also caught off guard.

"Even when he [Cunningham] said he had bad news, I thought he was going to say something about the coronavirus," he said, per Springer. "When he said they were going to defund the program, I thought it was in terms of gear or other things. I had no idea this was going to happen at all."    

According to Mark Schlabach of ESPN, Cincinnati's most recent NCAA financial report revealed the men's soccer program had operating losses of $726,498. The university had spent $68.8 million on athletics in 2019.   

The move came amid relative uncertainty about college sports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NCAA canceled all remaining winter and spring championships last month, including the headline-making men's and women's basketball tournaments, and the fate of the 2020 football season has drawn attention of late. 

College Football Playoff director Bill Hancock said "it's premature" to make a decision about whether there will be a season but acknowledged there will be preparations to hold the playoff, per Heather Dinich of ESPN.com.