When the University of North Dakota announced it would be cutting both its men's and women's tennis programs on Thursday, Athletic Director Bill Chaves offered a broad explanation for the decision. "Over the past five years, Division I athletics has experienced more change than the previous 30 years combined," Chaves said. "This has required us to adapt to a new landscape by reinventing the way we operate our athletic department as well as analyzing the existing resources we have and reallocating those resources moving forward."
In simpler terms, in today's world of NIL deals and revenue-sharing, the cost of supporting high-profile sports has skyrocketed—and that puts any program on the fringe in a vulnerable position. This isn't a challenge unique to UND; universities across the country are having these same difficult conversations and making tough choices.
But here's what makes UND's situation particularly interesting: as the price tag for men's basketball, women's basketball, football, and college hockey continues to climb, who else faces the same three-headed challenge? UND has to financially back men's hockey, football, and basketball at a Division I level—without the massive TV contract that comes with being in a Power 4 FBS conference.
Consider college hockey for context. Of the 16 teams in the 2026 NCAA tournament, four athletic departments benefit from Big Ten football television money, one has Big East basketball backing, three don't sponsor football at all, and three play Division II football. The only programs in that tournament with an FCS football portfolio? A pair of Ivy League schools (Dartmouth and Cornell), an FCS independent (Merrimack), and UND.
That means UND is competing in the toughest FCS league in the country—the Missouri Valley Football Conference—while also running a basketball program in what may be the most geographically challenging location in Division I, requiring significant resources just to stay competitive. And at the heart of it all is a college hockey program that serves as the university's flagship. UND's rivals in non-hockey sports simply don't have to navigate this three-headed hurdle.
Unfortunately for those passionate about tennis, the program became collateral damage in this new NCAA system—one where UND must operate unlike any other school. Tennis was low-hanging fruit: a sport dominated by international students without a deep local alumni base, featuring small rosters that didn't impact enrollment, and housed in a rented facility at Choice Health & Fitness rather than a dedicated on-campus venue.
That's not to say this move should be celebrated. But in a landscape where resources are finite and the pressure to support revenue-generating sports is relentless, tough decisions like these are becoming the new normal.