The University of Hartford could save nearly $10 million per year if it’s athletics program dropped from Division I to the Division III level, a feasibility report found.
The report, a leaked version of which was first reported by WTNH, says UHart currently loses about $13 million annually on its athletic program, which is part of the NCAA’s Division I America East Conference. If the program was in the lower-profile Division III, the school would lose only about $3.8 million annually.
In the report CarrSports Consulting LLC, the Florida-based firm UHart commissioned to complete the assessment, said UHart’s Division I athletics program “cannot achieve the goal of becoming more self-sustaining.”
A UHart spokeswoman said in an email that the university’s board of regents commissioned the report to provide options to “achieve long-term and sustainable excellence in our athletics program.”
It makes sense for the board to evaluate the university’s allocation of resources, said the spokeswoman, who added the board hasn’t reached a decision on any future action.
“To be clear, no decisions have yet been made by the Board about the future of our athletics program,” UHart said. “The Board of Regents is reviewing the report and the process is ongoing.”
UHart lists seven men’s sports teams and eight women’s sports teams (and an esports team each for men and women) currently operating at the varsity level.
The university last year enacted voluntary pay cuts and furloughs, while temporarily eliminating retirement contributions to recover some of at least $10 million in refunds and other revenue losses the school experienced amid COVID-19 shutdown measures at the time.
The school took other steps including eliminating retirement contributions for fiscal 2020 and the first half of fiscal 2021 ($4.46 million in savings); and canceling scholarships for last summer’s canceled summer programs ($1.5 million in savings).
The report was made public about a month after the Hartford Hawks men’s basketball team made its first appearance in the NCAA Division I “March Madness” tournament. The Baylor University Bears — which later won the tournament — knocked UHart out with a 75-55 win over the Hawks March 19.
The feasibility report also comes as UHart plans to hold in-person classes as its primary format for courses beginning in the fall semester, as the school plans to roll back pandemic-related measures. Colleges and universities across the country have collectively lost billions in fees for things like housing and dining services during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
