“The rationale [with water polo] was mostly two things,” Joos said. “A lot of people here don’t even know that we have a program, and that hurts in obvious ways. But also, facilities were a concern.”

UMass lacks a true water polo facility and has played its home games at nearby Amherst College.

“The decision with each sport rested on several factors,” Joos added. “The national and regional health of the sport, in-state vs. out-of-state competition, Title IX considerations. Sometimes these criteria conflicted, and the success of the sport was outweighed by other factors.”

The cuts, which will save an estimated $1.1 million a year, affect 10 coaches and 136 athletes, according to the Massachusetts Daily Collegian. According to the Collegian, the UMass Faculty Senate had recommended budget cuts in larger sports—including the school’s football team, which published reports in the Daily Hampshire Gazette indicate lost $2.5 million in 2001.

But instead, the athletic department cut several sports that were among its most competitive. In addition to its nationally ranked water polo teams, its men’s gymnastics team currently ranked No. 9 in the nation.

Rumblings on online message boards, including www.usawaterpolo.com, have suggested that alumni and parents may try to save the teams by funding them independently. Also the prospect of continued political pressure on the state has given hope to proponants of UMass water polo.

“The reduction will have a negative impact on the quality of the league,” Humphries said. “We are hoping that they raise enough money to play next year. They are one of the teams we point towards to validate East Coast water polo.”

If these last-ditch efforts to salvage UMass water polo are unsuccesful, one of the nation’s premier water polo teams will have met an untimely demise.

“They’re under a lot of financial stress, and I appreciate the situation,” Floerchinger said. “But it’s terrible for them to lose something that they could really take pride in.”