Jan. 13, 2012

Southern Utah to drop baseball program

Southern Utah announced that it will discontinue its baseball program following the 2012 season. The school’s Board of Trustees approved the decision after the recommendation of its athletic subcommittee.

SUU joins a list of Cleveland State, Duquesne, Northern Iowa and Vermont as schools which have dropped baseball in recent years.

Southern Utah is moving to the Big Sky Conference, which does not sponsor baseball. SUU must add men’s tennis, a core sport for the Big Sky, for the 2012-13 academic year and will use money previously used for baseball for men’s tennis.

Ken Beazer, SUU Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said that existing athletic scholarships will be honored for players with remaining eligibility for one year following the 2012 season.

Baseball at Southern Utah was cancelled once before in 1990, but returned for the 1991 season.

The Thunderbirds were 23-31 a season ago in the eighth year under head coach David Eldredge. SUU went 11-17 in the Summit League.