Alumni Fight To Bring Gopher Men’s Sports Back

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It’s been a year since the University of Minnesota eliminated men’s gymnastics, tennis, and track and field in a cost-cutting move, but alumni are hopeful they’ll be brought back.

Roughly 30 alumni made their presence known at the Board of Regents meeting on Friday morning.

Former Gopher athletes formed the Minnesota Athletics Alliance in hopes that the university’s decision to cut the programs will be rectified. Spokesmen from the teams say they’ve reached out to athletic director Mark Coyle several times over the past year, asking to discuss the matter. But so far, they say, he hasn’t been willing to talk about bringing the sports back.

“We want Mr. Coyle to know we are here,” said gymnastics alumni Brian Meeker. “We are still trying to work with him, we want to work with you and figure out how we can work with you,”

“Just disappointed in the prioritization of a couple sports at the expense of a lot of Olympic sports,” said Dan Humes, a track and field alumni.

Brad Madson played tennis with the university, and said he thinks tennis can be a self-funded program at the school. Representatives from each of the sports say they have a plan to bring them back, they’re just asking for a seat at the table with the athletic directors and the board of regents.

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