Alaska Anchorage announced the elimination of four sports on Wednesday, one of which is men’s hockey. UAA Chancellor Cathy Sandeen said in a statement that the elimination of men’s hockey, women’s gymnastics, men’s skiing and women’s skiing will save the school about $2.5 million per year.
The 2020-21 season will be the last one for the program; the changes go into effect for 2021-22.
“The decision to cut any UAA program, academic or athletic, is devastating. Since fiscal year 2014, state funding for UAA declined by $34 million, forcing leadership to make difficult decisions about which programs and services the university can sustain long term,” Sandeen said. “That includes our sports programs. My heart goes out to our student-athletes and coaching staffs affected by this situation. This comes at a difficult time as they are already facing much uncertainty surrounding this year’s season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I am proud of the incredible resilience they have shown.”
UAA said that, for the 2021-22 academic year, the school will provide tuition for those scholarship student-athletes directly impacted by today’s announcement and who choose to remain at UAA to pursue their degree.
Students will need to meet NCAA, university and athletic department policies to be eligible for this tuition benefit. Additionally, the athletics compliance and academic staff along with leadership team members will be available to discuss scholarship information, academic advising, counseling options and navigating the transfer process.
UAA moved it’s hockey program to a smaller arena last year, but the school said that there was a plan to expand that facility.
“UAA Athletics leadership was planning for hockey to compete in the Seawolf Sports Complex (SSC) two or three seasons before undergoing an expansion,” a statement read. “The move to SSC reduced our expenditures since we were no longer paying to lease space at Sullivan Arena. Our plans were soon derailed by the severity of the budget cuts, Alaska’s continuing economic struggles, and, most recently, the impact of COVID-19.”
The school also said that the uncertainty of the program’s conference future, after the impending disbandment of the WCHA, did not affect this decision.
“No, if UAA had the fiscal resources to move forward with hockey, it would compete as an independent or join another conference if the opportunity arose to do so,” the school said. “The funding required to operate a collegiate hockey program that provides a meaningful, positive experience for its student-athletes is no longer available. The same is true for gymnastics and skiing.”