July 20, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF Athletics Association (UCFAA) will discontinue its men's cross country program as an intercollegiate sport effective at the end of the fall 2007 semester, announced UCF Director of Athletics and Executive Vice President Keith Tribble.
"It is always difficult to even consider the phasing out of a program. Administratively, we must ensure that the experience that each student-athlete receives meets or exceeds his or her expectations," said Tribble. "We realized through meetings with our student-athletes that men's cross country team members have not received the same type of experience over the years that our other student-athletes have experienced. We believe that without a men's track and field team, the men's cross country program does not fit into our strategic plan moving forward. The experience that these team members have had would not improve without the addition of a year-round program. At this time in our development it is not feasible to add another intercollegiate team."
The decision came with a vote of approval from the Athletic Association's Board of Directors at its most recent quarterly meeting.
The UCF men's cross country program debuted in 1979. After competing in the Sunshine State Conference for the first three years, the Knights were without conference affiliation from 1984-1989. In 1992, they made the move to the Trans America Athletic (now Atlantic Sun) Conference. The past two seasons the team has competed in Conference USA.
The UCFAA will honor all current men's cross country scholarships until their graduation, provided that the student continues to make progress toward earning a degree and follow all rules and regulations required of UCF student-athletes. The UCFAA will also meet with any current member of the men's cross country team if he wishes to transfer to another school, as per the regulations set forth by the NCAA. In addition, any grant-in-aid that have been offered would have the option of attending UCF this current year or be released from the national letter-of-intent, allowing the prospective student-athlete to contact other institutions about participation.