I read earlier this week that because of the state budget crunch, UC Irvine dropped five intercollegiate sports. Is there any possibility of that happening at UC San Diego?

EARL EDWARDS: Our tradition, of a broad-based philosophy regarding athletics is still intact at UC San Diego. Although these economic times certainly make things challenging, we’re not looking at dropping any sports at this time.

We take a great deal of pride in the fact that all 23 of our sports are consistently competitive, and one of the metrics for UCSD Athletics is the annual Directors’ Cup rankings. We’ve finished in the top seven in the Directors’ Cup standings eight of our nine years at the NCAA Division II level which is reflective of that commitment to a diversified program.

If one surveyed the top research universities in the country, I think you would find that virtually all—Harvard, Yale, Duke, Stanford, etc.—have even more intercollegiate sports teams than ours and are focused on across-the-board inclusion and success. The University is recognized as part of that elite group, and we consider our approach to intercollegiate athletics the same way they do.  All of our teams bring something of value to the entire department, and as a whole, offer different experiences to a large percentage of UCSD students.

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