UNI baseball officially dead

Last-ditch attempts to save University of Northern Iowa baseball by program supporters have failed, and it will be cut at the end of the season, UNI Athletics Director Troy Dannen confirmed Wednesday.

Dannen announced in late February that baseball would be chopped for financial reasons unless $1.2 million could be raised by April 5 to fund the program for three years.

A fundraising website (www.supportunibaseball.com) was set up, but only roughly $255,000 was secured. Meetings between supporters and Dannen took place last week and this week but all plans for alternative funding were rejected.

"Nothing was brought forth that enabled the program to be fully funded," Dannen said. "From the beginning, we said that was what was required."

Dannen was asked if the school would listen if other funding proposals were still brought forth.

"We are past our deadline," he said. "We have had discussions on and off for the past couple of weeks.

"You never know what will happen in the future - whether it's one week, one year, five years. But we have no future meetings scheduled, and I don't expect there to be any." 

Head coach Rick Heller, program supporter Gary Sharp and Perfect Game USA President Jerry Ford, whose Cedar Rapids baseball scouting company pledged $25,000 to keep the program, was among those who crafted a letter that was forwarded to the Iowa State Board of Regents on Wednesday, criticizing Dannen and UNI President Ben Allen, who they claim are "determined to eliminate varsity baseball from their school."

The five-page letter said supporters promised to raise at least $250,000 on an annual basis to fund the baseball program, if the school would contribute $100,000 annually in scholarship money. The letter also criticized having just a six-week window in which to raise $1.2 million.

"The decision to not accept our offer is extremely disappointing," Heller said in the letter. "It was more than fair and one that wouldn't have put a burden on the athletic department. To think that they couldn't find $100,000 in scholarship money to save a program that has been around for 103 years is sad. I feel sick for our players, alumni and boosters.

"We fought as hard as we could and I'm proud of the effort our group showed until the very end. We couldn't have done any more. I think it was apparent to everyone in Mr. Dannen's office (Tuesday) that this decision came from the top and isn't about money. To think we are losing one of only two Division I baseball programs in Iowa for political reasons is criminal. I couldn't be more disappointed."

Here is a link to the entire letter: