Pierce sports surviving budget cuts

While other community colleges are cutting athletics programs, Pierce is getting by on cutbacks

Shannon Berry / Roundup

The Pierce College athletics program, along with other community college sports programs, are becoming endangered as a result of the state’s new budget and the Commission on Athletics’ proposed ultimatum.

This year the COA revised community colleges’ budgets in an effort to help the campuses better accommodate their sports programs without having to eliminate them completely.

The state declared community colleges must undergo cost containment, forcing every sport to cut their number of allowable contests.

Pierce Athletic Director Bob Lofrano said the effect of the hefty budget cuts on Pierce athletics is unnoticeable.

“We took one assistant coach from each team, with the exception of football, where two assistant coaches were released,” Lofrano said. “It all added up to a savings between $80,000 to $90,000.”

Lofrano stated that, according to the Commission on Athletics, a college football team can have up to, but not exceed, six assistant coaches.

He further stated that Pierce is doing well because, while some community college campuses have cut entire athletic sports programs, Pierce was able to appease the budget situation by only having to cut a number of assistant coaches.

“A school is better off not dropping a sport because if you drop a sport, it’s probably not going to come back,” Lofrano said.

Some community colleges are feeling the brunt of the state’s budget proposal more than others.

Every school has an individual budget and colleges such as Moorpark College and Los Angeles City College, which dropped every sport except women’s volleyball, are making drastic changes to their sports programs in an effort to meet their school budget.

Activities that were once considered essential to sports teams’ well-being and development have been put on the back burner instead of the athletics program as a whole.

“Football scrimmages were wiped out due to the budget. We also had to cut down on equipment,” said Julio Gramajo, Valley College academic and athletic support program coordinator and football defensive line coach.

Gramajo describes the budget’s effect on athletics as something that has been ongoing, but just not at the current rate. He also feels the budget cut on academic programs and classes weighed more heavily on some athletes.

“The second summer session being cut affected athletes because some athletes were depending on the semester to catch up with their GPAs,” Gramajo said. “That impacted a lot of the sports because it delayed students being able to transfer. Some are being forced to take a year off and red shirt.”

Aside from the newly proposed budget cuts taking away the muchneeded second summer session, some colleges are eliminating sports programs on campuses because they are becoming less of a commodity.

“Nothing’s a perfect scenario. Everyone has to bite the bullet,” Lofrano said.