Six Sports Will Be Discontinued After 2023-24 Season
LOS ANGELES — To provide the best possible student-athlete experience, adapt to the quickly changing NCAA landscape, and ensure continued equal opportunities and access, LMU will discontinue six intercollegiate programs at the end of the 2023-24 competitive seasons.
The six sports that will be discontinued are: men’s cross country, men’s rowing, men’s track and field, women’s rowing, women’s swimming, and women’s track and field.
“Our mission is to support our students in their pursuit of the highest level of success athletically, academically, and culturally,” Athletic Director Craig Pintens said. “This decision, while difficult, best positions our department and remaining Division I sports for success.”
LMU currently offers 20 intercollegiate athletics programs with more than 400 student-athletes, the most in the West Coast Conference. The decision concentrates resources on the remaining programs, enabling LMU to position its sports for greater competitive excellence and success in the future.
“The NCAA landscape is changing rapidly, and schools of all sizes must adapt to provide the best student–athlete experience while becoming even more competitive. LMU is no different,” Pintens said.
The decision was reached after carefully considering various internal and external factors, including the transformational changes impacting college athletics nationally, from the advent of name, image, and likeness (NIL) to changing transfer rules to pending rulings on student-athletes as employees, among others.
LMU is providing significant resources to assist impacted students, including honoring their athletic financial aid if they remain at LMU for their undergraduate studies. The university will continue offering club competition options and assist students who transfer to continue their collegiate athletic careers.
“This is a tough day for many in our community, specifically our student-athletes and coaches in the impacted sports,” Pintens said. “In no way does this decision reflect on their commitment to their sports or the university. We hold these student-athletes and their coaches in high esteem and honor that commitment and their achievements.”
For more information about the decision, including FAQs, visit lmulions.com/ReshapingAthletics.
