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Media Credit: Zacherie Lee A baseball player prepares to throw a hard pitch during practice.

Media Credit: Zacherie Lee The team gets ready to begin their practice.

Budget cuts are causing problems within the Athletics Department, but plenty of students are still playing giving it their all to prepare for the spring season.

Though the year may have just begun, that doesn't seem to be hindering anyone in the Athletics Department. The baseball and softball teams are both practicing every day, eagerly preparing for their first game of the year.

While the players may ready to start the season, recent budget cuts and trouble with the economy itself are hampering the Athletic Department's ability to perform as well as they have in the past.

"We're cutting $50,000-60,000 out of our budget because student enrollment's a little bit down," Athletic Director and Head Coach Alan Kramer of Men's Tennis said. "That $70 athletic fee adds up pretty quickly."

It's obvious the economy is playing a big part in most things the Athletics Department can do this year. An example is how many games the teams can participate in.

"We're just dealing with what everyone's dealing with," Kramer said. "Higher travel costs, gas goes up, so every trip you take goes up."

The Athletics Department is dependent on the student's athletics fees. So, with everyone pinching their wallets tighter and tighter, paying for things is getting more and more difficult.

On the bright side of things, the still-new Athletics Hall of Fame, which was added three years ago, recently saw some new names added.

The tennis teams performed well last year, with men finishing 3rd and women finishing 6th for the second year in a row. Despite these victories, Kramer is unsure on how they will perform this season.

"In January, there's no way we're going to know until things start to take shape into February and March," Kramer said, commenting on how they might perform this season.

Despite budget cuts and being unsure about the future, the coaches are all still working just as hard as they always have been.

"We're always looking at how can we improve, what do we need to do, are we working with the community," Kramer said. "The students can come over any time"

Despite budget cuts and money becoming tighter and tighter, students and coaches aren't ready to throw in the towel yet. In the words of famed football coach Vince Lombardi, "The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur."

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