Stanford has had to cut 11 varsity programs due to the coronavirus pandemic. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Stanford cuts 11 varsity sports programs amid coronavirus pandemic

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 7/8/20

On Wednesday, Stanford University unofficially hinted that the school's football program may have to play games inside empty stadiums if it has a season at all amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In an official statement, the university explained:

We now face the reality that significant change is needed to create fiscal stability for Stanford Athletics, and to provide the support we believe is essential for our student-athletes to excel.

In that context, we are writing today with some extremely difficult news. In consultation with the Board of Trustees, we have made the decision to reduce the breadth of our athletics programs and staffing. Stanford will discontinue 11 of our varsity sports programs at the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year: men’s and women’s fencing, field hockey, lightweight rowing, men’s rowing, co-ed and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming, men’s volleyball and wrestling. All of these teams will have the opportunity to compete in their upcoming 2020-21 seasons, should the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 allow it, before they are discontinued at the varsity level. Regretfully, 20 of our support staff positions are being eliminated as part of this realignment.

The programs may enter club status following the upcoming academic year.

According to Jon Wilner of The Mercury News, Stanford reported an endowment of roughly $28 billion last fall.

In late May, Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott said he believed the conference would be able to start the 2020 college football season on time. That, however, was before rising coronavirus cases throughout pockets of the country threatened collegiate and professional campaigns from the summer through the end of the calendar year.

Much more recently, ESPN's Paul Finebaum and Ivy League coaches speculated that football seasons could be delayed, postponed or canceled due to uncontrolled virus outbreaks.

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