Members of the men’s track team are still in shock a dayafter receiving the news that their sport would be eliminated fromthe athletic program.

“I can’t believe this. It feels like my heart hasfallen right through the floor; I haven’t been able to feelmy legs all day,” said track member Hannes Hopley, thedefending NCAA discus champion.

SMU will hold a Board of Trustees meeting Friday to finalize theplan to eliminate the men’s track and field team, whichincludes the cross-country program. Following the meeting, anannouncement will be made at a news conference scheduled for 1:30p.m.

For most of the team members, their future is uncertain as manyof them are here on scholarships.

“They recruited us to come here,” Einar Hjartarsonsaid. “We came because of the coach and amazingschool.” Hjartarson, like many others on the men’steam, has traveled far from his home for the sport he loves. Now,without any warning, they are being told that after this semester,they will no longer have a team or be able to compete.

“Any guy who is not a senior should leave,” trackmember and senior journalism major Abraham Ekal said.

Team members expressed their reasons for choosing SMU andcan’t understand how a team that made nationals last year isbeing cut.

“I chose SMU because of the track team, among manyschools,” Ekal said. “It is so internationally mixed. Icame here, but I could get a scholarship anywhere else. My parentsworked two and three jobs just so that I could go here.” Ekalreceived his scholarship this year.

Team member Matt McKinney said the deciding factor was that SMUhas the best throwing program.

“I didn’t come this far and I haven’t made thesacrifices that I have with my athletic career just to let itgo,” McKinney said.

He said he will not return to SMU.

Wednesday night in a team meeting, Athletic Director JimCopeland told the men’s track team that the program was goingto be canceled because of financial reasons.

Financially the team may be losing, but in competition, theyrepresent SMU’s winning side.

The program has finished in the top 10 in five of the past sevenyears at the NCAA Outdoor Championships as well as winning theWestern Athletic Conference championship last year.

“Cutting the team isn’t the only solution —it’s the easiest,” Ekal said. “It’s beinglazy. It’s a temporary solution. A couple of years from nowanother men’s team will be cut.

“It’s our job to compete and do a good job.It’s the administration’s to make the funds, andthey’re not doing they’re job,” he said.

Other members of the track team feel that if they were givennotice that they could have made an effort to raise money or getfunding from alumni to save the team.

“They could have given us warning to raise money and tryand stay alive,” senior and women’s track memberLavanda Hill said.

The sadness is not only within the men’s team, but thewomen’s as well.

“I think it’s unfair. We are like a family, peoplecame from all over to be here,” Hill said. “If itweren’t for Title IX, I think that women’s would havebeen gone. There’s a little bit of guilt because were onlyhere because of that.”

The Title IX legislation prohibits sexual discrimination inschools. The educational institutions must provide opportunitiesfor both male and female students and student athletes inproportion to their respective enrollments.

Wollman said he has been offered the position as head coach forthe women’s team.

He has not yet accepted the position, but members of thewomen’s track team are concerned.

“That means that we’re switching coaches everyyear,” sophomore and track member Shawndra Roy said.”Do they expect us to get better [by] switchingcoaches?”

The cut of the men’s track and field team resembles the1980 cut of the SMU baseball team.

Since then, SMU has added several women’s sports tofulfill the Title IX law, including soccer, rowing, volleyball andthe recent addition of the equestrian team.

Wollman doesn’t believe that the cut has anything to dowith the recent addition of the equestrian team and thinks thatmore women’s sports will be added in the future. Wollman alsoresponded to Athletic Director Jim Copeland’s statement madein Wednesday’s meeting that reasons for cutting the teamincluded a lack of fan base.

“When they made the football stadium, they cut off sevenmeters at the end of the track,” Wollman said. “Theplan was to add it to the other end. Then they ran out of money, sothat never got done.”

For the last seven or eight years the track has not been up toNCAA regulation, making it impossible for the team to hold homemeets.

“To say that it doesn’t have interest is ludicrousbecause they never gave us a chance,” Wollman said.”The stands were packed at every home meet we had.”

Copeland was unavailable for contact as of press time, and theathletic department has not yet released a press statement.

SMU will continue to compete in women’s track andfield.

As for the current status of the men’s Mustang pride, Ekalsaid he is running for his teammates, not the administration.

“They really don’t care about athletes, they tell usthis a week before conference [championships],” Ekalsaid.

“I don’t want to wear an SMU jersey, I will cover upthe name. If they don’t value it, then why should Irepresent?” he said.