Feb. 2, 2011
COLLEGE PAGE
CSNBayArea.com staff
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A decision on the fate of five sports designated to be cut at Cal could come as early as Friday, according to a source close to the situation.
The self-imposed deadline of Monday was pushed back on Tuesday when athletic director Sandy Barbour announced in an e-mail that the university expected "to have a final decision within the next 10 days."
A copy of an e-mail sent Wednesday night to supporters of Save Cal Sports, a group of alumni and supporters of Bears athletics, was obtained byCSNBayArea.com.
It stated that they were within "striking distance"regarding the funding needed to reinstate the five sports.
News
Baseball, rugby, men's and women's gymnastics and lacrosse will be forced to shut down at the end of this school year if a 25 million fundraising target is not met.
Save Cal Sports has reportedly raised more than 16 million.
The following is the e-mail sent to supporters of Save Cal Sports:
Thank you to all of you for your inspired and ongoing support for the reinstatement of all five recently cut Cal sports. We are within striking distance and I am confident that we will soon celebrate reinstatement together as a Cal community!We still need every single bit of financial support possible to make reinstatement a near-term reality. Please keep spreading the word and leave no stone unturned. Let it be known that this effort does not end with reinstatement as we have a larger need for lifetime endowment of all athletic programs at Cal.However, this is also about something much bigger than any individual sports program. This is about the overall health of the University of California as a whole. Those of us fortunate enough to have attended Cal know the importance and lifelong value of our academic and athletic experiences; we need to be proactive in our defense of what weve enjoyed and work fervently to preserve these opportunities for future generations of Bears.We need to be a shining example to the state of California- we can indeed come to the aid of our ailing University and ensure a strong and certain future for our preeminent institution of higher learning. During these difficult economic times, we can and will prove that Cal produces leaders; we will not ask may we but we will instead say WE WILL FIND THE WAY.California is the 8th largest economy in the world; we have a grave responsibility to the United States, but also to the world. ANY CUTS at Cal diminish our ability to accept this responsibility and be the leaders capable of effecting the change we wish to see in the world.Please continue to move forward deliberately and be a part of the solution. Help honor Cals past, present and future. We will earn reinstatement! GO BEARS!