WKU Director of Athletics Todd Stewart announced Tuesday the elimination of the men’s tennis program as a varsity intercollegiate sport, effective as the upcoming 2014-15 academic year. 

“This is certainly a disappointment,” Stewart said in a university-issued statement. “Unfortunately, the cumulative effect of three consecutive years of cuts to the overall athletics budget forces us to make difficult decisions. We have actually increased both our ticket and sponsorship revenue in each of the last two years along with private donor support, but cuts to the athletics budget have lessened the impact of our growth. I would like to thank all of our current and former men’s tennis coaches, student-athletes and their families for their service to our program, and I share their disappointment with this course of action.”

“The elimination of sport programs has become a nationwide trend in recent years, and many schools are facing similar challenges. Our decision to eliminate men’s tennis also enables us to avoid cuts to any other sport program. We will go into the 2014-15 year with 18 sponsored sports, which ties for the most in Conference USA. WKU Athletics has an overall 70 percent graduation rate, and nine of our sport programs have won a conference championship over the last two years. We also have an excellent opportunity to win the 2013-14 Vic Bubas Cup, given annually to the Sun Belt Conference’s all-sports champion, for the first time since 2008. Our goals will not change, and we remain committed to making a national impact in the years ahead on the field of play and in the classroom.”

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Current WKU men’s tennis student athletes will be allowed to transfer to another school without having to sit out a year. If the student-athlete chooses to remain a student at WKU their scholarship will be honored at its current level through their senior year provided they remain in good academic standing.

WKU will enter Conference USA with 18 varsity sports, which is tied for the most among the 14 schools in the league.

WKU began playing tennis in 1936. WKU has finished last or second-to-last in the Sun Belt Conference standings for 15-straight seasons. WKU finished fourth in the Sun Belt in 1995.