Dalton State College President Margaret Venable listens to interim athletic director Jon Jaudon during the press conference on Thursday.

DALTON, Ga. — For Dalton State College volleyball coach Bruna Langer, knowing that her program was one of several being considered for possible termination did little to alleviate the pain when the time for the decision finally came.

The Roadrunners men’s cross country, men’s and women’s tennis, and women’s volleyball programs will be discontinued effective July 1, school officials announced on Thursday. Cheerleading, which is not an NAIA sanctioned program, will also been eliminated.

“We kind of knew that volleyball might be one of them, but at the same time you want to save your sport,” Langer said. “Then today your kids are crying and it’s just a shock. I tried to recruit good kids that represented the school and the community well and it sucks that they may not be able to finish their college careers here. We just have to keep our heads up, but I’m still just in shock.”

The college had announced up to four sports could be cut due to budget concerns in a press release on Oct. 7, 2016. The five programs are being cut and another added in a reorganization designed to build a more “sustainable” financial model for the athletic department, officials said. A women’s track and field program will be added, with athletes from the women’s cross country team participating.

Basketball, women’s cross country and men’s and women’s golf and soccer will continue, although the college said in a press release that those programs will be affected by budget cuts as well.

Dalton State interim athletic director Jon Jaudon said the scholarships of the athletes in the discontinued sports will continue to be honored. He said the department is committed to assisting athletes who wish to transfer to compete at another school and they will immediately be eligible for competition.

After months of planning and discussions on topics ranging from travel expenses to conference membership requirements, college President Margaret Venable and Jaudon were ready to announce the results on Thursday. Venable was emotional as she addressed those who will be impacted by the decision in a prepared statement.

“I apologize to the athletes, their coaches, their families and our fans that we have to take this difficult action; there just was no other alternative,” Venable said. “We must design an athletic program we can afford to maintain … I also want to be clear that there were a number of people involved in developing this plan going forward, but ultimately it was the president’s decision which teams were cut, so I take full responsibility for this plan.”

In discussing what factors led to these sports being discontinued, Jaudon mentioned travel expenses for sports whose schedules are dictated by the Southern States Athletic Conference, such as men’s and women’s tennis and volleyball. Those sports are more expensive as a result, he said. Another factor was trying to “right size” the department as it relates to gender equity.

Jaudon said the department will be Title IX compliant after the changes are implemented due to the ratio of male to female athletes participating in sports being equal to the male to female ratio of the student body as a whole. Dalton State has a 60 percent female student body.

Since relaunching athletics in 2012, Dalton State’s teams have experienced much success. The men’s basketball program won the NAIA national championship in 2015 in the first season in which it was eligible for postseason play, and the cross country and golf programs have won conference championships. The men’s tennis and both golf programs were ranked in national polls during the fall 2016 semester and basketball is currently ranked sixth.

But what Jaudon described as an “upside down” financial model led to depleted funds that made keeping a 10-sport athletic program unsustainable. Jaudon said the school will save $600,000 a year in expenses through the cuts and will decrease the athletic budget overall by more than $1 million during the next two years.

“In fiscal year 2016, which was the 2015-16 academic year, we expended $2.6 million on athletics,” Jaudon said. “Thirty-two percent of that was generated by state funds and 68 percent via private resources. Of that 68 percent, 80 percent of that came from a single donor. This year, we are operating on a $2.1 million budget with 39 percent coming from state funds and 61 from private with 83 percent from a single donor. Next year, we have submitted a budget of $1.5 million with 70 percent from state funds and 30 percent from private, with 50 percent from that donor.

“Dalton State was blessed with philanthropic support to begin athletics and we are forever grateful. This support was vital to getting started. Part of that support was originally designed to assist the department over the first decade of operation. However, the payments were accelerated. This accelerated payout was a natural consequence of a 10-sport department plus cheer. Unfortunately, that model is not sustainable based on future revenue projections. The good news is athletics continues at Dalton State, but in a more sustainable fashion.”

One action that was considered to help alleviate budget concerns that could still happen is a student fee increase. While Venable emphasized that the student body could not take on an increase that would have been necessary to keep all 10 sports active, she said she is hopeful there will still be a small increase to student fees in support of athletics.

The release from the college also states that “scholarships for men’s soccer and men’s golf will be scaled back unless or until private support can be developed to bring them back to full strength.” Jaudon said he is cautiously optimistic that sufficient financial support will be developed to maintain those sports at or near their current levels.

The addition of women’s track and field allows the Roadrunners to continue full membership in the NAIA and the Southern States Athletic Conference. SSAC Assistant Commissioner Matthew Hicks confirmed through email on Thursday that the schools in the conference must participate in four core sports to maintain membership, which includes men’s and women’s basketball and soccer, baseball, softball and volleyball. However, the conference also allows cross country and track and field combined to be counted as one core sport. Dalton State will meet the requirements with basketball, women’s cross country and track and field, and men’s and women’s soccer.

While the changes will not take place until July 1, the men’s tennis program has already elected not to play the 2017 season. With the threat of programs being cut, several athletes chose to transfer prior to the spring semester in order to protect a year of eligibility. Only five athletes remained for the men’s program and six are required to field a full team. Therefore, the team would begin each match down 2-0 by having to forfeit a singles and a doubles line.

The women’s team is in the same situation with only five competitors, but has elected to play this season regardless. Dalton State Director of Tennis Michel Bates said she is heartbroken about the program being lost, but that she couldn’t be prouder of her team and how they’ve handled the situation.

“I am disappointed for the community and for the student-athletes, but I take it with my chin up because what an absolutely fantastic opportunity this has been for me the past four and a half years,” Bates said. “I can’t thank Dalton State enough for allowing me the opportunity to coach here. I will always be a Roadrunner and will continue to support the other programs.

“I think (the women continuing to play) just shows their character. They’re competitors and they are willing to get in there and fight. I respect the guys’ decision also because their situation was different in that they have a few more guys who have more eligibility left. I have a couple of great seniors (on the women’s team) that really wanted to play and I am tickled to death they are willing to take on that challenge.”

Venable stressed the school’s commitment to having a vibrant athletics program hasn’t wavered. 

“Our athletic program remains a vital part of the Dalton State experience, and it is critically important as we strive to become a first-choice destination college to students of this region and beyond,” she said.