Ball State men's volleyball head coach Joel Walton said he had been hearing rumors for a very long time -- rumors that his team may be cut from the Ball State Athletics department.
"I kept telling myself, 'How can this be true?'" Walton said. "We are talking about Ball State men's volleyball that competes year in and year out on a national level. We are a program that has been to 15 NCAA tournaments."
Last Tuesday, rumors became reality.
In a meeting that Walton said included all involved head coaches, Ball State athletics director Bubba Cunningham told five coaches that the future of their teams may be in question after he had received a recommendation to cut six programs -- men's indoor track, men's outdoor track, men's swimming and diving, men's volleyball, women's field hockey and women's gymnastics.
The recommendation came from a committee Cunningham created in late April to review budgetary concerns within the athletic program.
Walton explained he is unsure what steps he needs to take to ensure the recommendation does not follow through.
One thing is for sure, however. He isn't going down without a fight.
"I really don't know what the best angle is," he said. "The most important thing for me right now is to get our name off of that list. Cuts are never good for athletic programs. It's just a black eye."
Walton said his biggest objective before the board of trustees meeting on July 18 is to have fans and athletes submit letters that oppose cutting sports programs.
"I'm not sure what they can really do, but we will ask them to write letters," Walton said. "I am expecting letters to come from this entire nation, from the entire volleyball community.
"When you talk about Ball State men's volleyball, because of the longevity of this program, there have been so many lives affected nationwide. What our program has done for Ball State, I think is more important than the cost."
Under the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, reports submitted by Ball State for the 2001-2002 season noted that the Ball State men's volleyball team spent more than $55,000 in expenditures.
Walton said that number is deceiving.
The fifth year coach said he received $26,719 for expenditures from the university in 2002. The rest, he said, came from fund-raising and camp programs initiated by him and his team.
The real price tag that leaves a sour taste in the mouths of Cunningham's committee was the overall amount of money budgeted for each sport, not just expenditures. For men's volleyball alone, about $200,000 was budgeted for the 2002-2003 season. That total includes coach salaries, scholarship costs and expenditures.
"The far reaching hands of Ball State men's volleyball are everywhere," Walton said. "What that does for Ball State is give publicity. A little over $200,000 each year is pretty inexpensive.
"There have been many years where we have been on television which few Ball State programs can say," he added.
The $200,000 is the figure Walton said he was told his program costs. Walton also said that throughout the past week he has tried to get hold of the paperwork on which the committee based its decision. But, he said, he has not been able to find someone who is forthcoming with the information and paperwork, leaving him in the dark when it comes to finding a solution.
Walton said that as of Sunday night he had received a lot of feedback in opposition to the recommendation, asking him what can be done to help and prevent the recommendation from going through.
"I think it is just the tip of the iceberg," Walton said. "Not everyone knows about this nationwide yet."
Of the six teams suggested to be cut, the men's volleyball team is arguably the most successful in recent times. Along with attending the NCAA tournament in 2002, the men's volleyball team also won its 21st Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association crown after posting a 23-8 record. In 2003, Ball State ended the season ranked No. 13 in the nation and with a 19-9 record.
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