A player on the University of Winnipeg men's baseball team says he was shocked to hear the team is no more.

Wyatt Kemball plays second base. He says they had no idea it was going to happen.

 

 

Kemball understood the team to be self-sustaining.

 

 

Chris Minaker is the Senior Executive Officer of the U of W. He says the intention for the baseball team was to be self-sustaining, however it had annual deficits, currently totalling $60,000.

Baseball isn't the only sports team on the chopping block. Men's and women's wrestling have been cut as well, and men's soccer is on hold for the year.

Minaker says the team reductions in total are saving UWinnipeg $400,000 annually, saying those teams relied on numerous athletic department services and there is also liability and risk associated with international travel and other related costs.

The university is legally obligated to balance its budget. Minaker points to a zero per cent increase in post-secondary funding in the province's budget in April as the reason for the cuts.

Along with the scrapped sports teams, the U of W says 4.5 senior positions will remain vacant, and about 100 non-unionized staff will see salary freezes in 2017 and 2018. For the remainder of the fiscal year, the jobs of dean of science, dean of kinesiology, and director of the Global College will be filled by internal candidates on an acting basis, and numerous support staff positions will also remain vacant. The total changes are expected to eliminate $3.7-million in costs.

Kemball says after hearing the news he's considered switching schools, but he says it's pretty late to transfer, and the price is right in Winnipeg.

The news is also affecting a player from across the world, according to Kemball.

 

 

Minaker says $3.7-million is a lot to make up, so the school put together a plan. He says they did their absolute best to focus on academic excellence and support for students.