While war wages in Iraq and with the timeline for liberation of its people unclear, a separate war has been waging in Wisconsin. No physical casualties will result, and the eventual outcome is just as hazy. The war pits university administrators and students against dollars and budget cuts. At the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the war to save the wrestling team has started.

I was actually in the middle of writing a column on how the war in Iraq is not a serious departure from American foreign policy, and that column will still come, but I thought I’d give it more time. I felt the chance to inform you about a lesser-known battle would be a pleasant break from endless columns about protesting and bombing.

As we all know, Wisconsin is facing large budget deficits — $3.2 billion through 2005. Gov. Doyle’s commitment to education resulted in the University of Wisconsin System taking the largest cut of any state program. Seeing this, UW-Oshkosh deemed it necessary to cut 5 percent of its athletic budget.

This left the wrestling program in a perilous position and seemed likely to be headed the way of Marquette and UW-River Falls. However, unlike most wrestling programs hit with the prospects of elimination, UW-Oshkosh and its wrestlers were able to pull through and save the team.

To truly understand the magnitude of this victory at UW-Oshkosh, one must sift through 30 years of ethical and legal battles. When the search is through, it becomes clear that preservation has too often given way to elimination. Take, for instance, the UCLA men’s gymnastics team, which has produced more than 20 Olympic gold medalists. Despite battling with a university administration hell-bent on complying with Title IX, the team was ultimately slashed. UCLA was subsequently sued by the National Organization of Women for Title IX noncompliance.

At Fairfield University, football and ice hockey will not be offered next year. There was some resistance to the decision, but as of now it seems the university will have its way. Fairfield President Aloysius Kelley said the decision “will give us a greater opportunity to maintain our ambitious goals in the area of Division I intercollegiate athletics while strengthening the resources we need to meet our primary mission of educating young men and women.” In this case, eliminating the opportunities of young men and women seems to mean providing greater opportunities.

Sometimes a sports team is given an opportunity to save itself. Take Miami University in Ohio, for example. There, the men’s soccer, golf, wrestling and tennis teams were told to raise $13 million in two months or face elimination. Today, none of those teams exist. The move at Miami-Ohio is a more common move used by gutless university administrators to say, “Hey, we gave you the chance, you had the opportunity, but you couldn’t get it done.”

And at Marquette University in Milwaukee, a wrestling program was eliminated despite being financially independent from the university. Again, Title IX was acting as the predator.

The stories of UCLA, Fairfield, Miami of Ohio and Marquette are only a snapshot of a long history of lost battles. Some battles have been won, however. Recently, the University of Minnesota succeeded in saving its golf and gymnastics teams.

In the process of saving its wrestling program, UW-Oshkosh coaches and staff offered to completely forfeit their salaries if it would make a difference. They also brought in wrestling legend Dan Gable to speak to local business leaders on how to save the program and help contribute to its endowment fund.

As of now, the wrestling team is safe. This is no doubt attributable to the quick mobilization of the wrestling community and a tribute to the coaches and fans of the UW-Oshkosh wrestling program. But don’t let your guard down; more battles of this nature are sure to come. Hopefully, the communities of those sports can come together like the wrestling community, and the coaching staffs can maintain the vigor to not give up.

Derek Montgomery ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science and journalism.