Point Loma Nazarene University (PLNU) was forced to cut four sports from its athletic program last week when it was determined that a permanent home field could not be found for the women’s softball team. The affected sports include men’s golf, men’s track, men’s cross country and women’s softball. “It was obviously a regrettable situation that we found ourselves in,” PLNU Athletic Director Ethan Hamilton said. The decision will be in effect by the fall 2011 semester when the athletic program will field four men’s teams (baseball, basketball, soccer and tennis) and five women’s teams (basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball and women’s track). Hamilton was forced to make the decision after less than a year on the job after he replaced Carroll B. Land. The cutting of the softball program is a double blow to Point Loma because it not only loses one of its’ more successful and popular teams, but forces the cut of other programs due to Title IX, which provides for equality between genders in programs and activities. “There was a Title IX complaint for us to find a more equitable solution for softball that would be similar to what we have for our baseball team, but due to access and opportunity, we were not able to find a long-term solution,” Hamilton said. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights informed PLNU it needed to find a stadium for the softball team equitable to the baseball team. Because the funding for men and women’s athletics must be equal, PLNU was forced to cut three men’s sports to even the athletic budget between the men and women’s sports. Matt Aubrey, a representative from District 2 City Councilmember Kevin Faulconer’s office, said, “Councilman Faulconer has reached out to offer any support that the university needs to find a playing field.” According to Aubrey, Faulconer met with university officials last year when the current softball field was turned back into the hands of the city and at that time offered his support to PLNU to help find an alternative playing field. The softball team was established in 1977 and enjoyed its greatest success over the past 12 years (1998-2009) under former head coach Dave Williams. Williams built the program into a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics powerhouse by leading the Sea Lions to 12 consecutive winning seasons, three GSAC championships (2002, 2003 and 2004) and three regional championships (2001, 2003 and 2004) and nine straight years (2001-09) in the National Tournament. In last five years alone, the Sea Lions’ softball program has posted an overall record of 235-68 in one of the NAIA’s toughest conferences. The team is off to another great start (8-0) in 2010 under first-year head coach and former PLNU softballer Cheryl Schaeffer. In addition to the softball program’s success on the field, the program has developed a strong following in and around the Point Loma community, which makes the decision to cut the program even more painful for the university. The Sea Lions had been using the city-owned area from 1979-2009. In 2005, the city decided to use the area to develop a public park and allowed the university to use the field on a temporary basis until after the 2009 season. The future of the athletes from the four affected programs is also uncertain, but Hamilton has given them the option of maintaining their scholarships if they remain at Point Loma or granting them a transfer to any school within the GSAC after spring 2010. Hamilton said the prospect of the softball program returning to PLNU is also dim unless a permanent home field can be found.