This broke Wednesday, so I apologize for being tardy with it.
In a move that will have the tiniest of ripple effects, the University of New Orleans officially got permission to withdraw from the Sun Belt Conference, effective July 1.
The move had to be made because the university simply can’t afford to have Division I athletics in a post-Katrina New Orleans.
In a really classy move, the Sun Belt Conference had a unanimous vote to not force UNO to pay the $500k penalty that normally comes with cutting out early on the conference.
Head coach Joe Pasternack has had the unenviable position of leading through team amid financial and recruiting hurdles.
“We’ve known and our players have known that this day was coming, so it’s not a surprise, ” Pasternack said. “The UNO administration feels that the only way to have athletics at UNO is to reclassify to Division III, which is a lot better than eliminating athletics all together. All we can focus on is our basketball team and our next opponent, Louisiana-Lafayette. I think they are the most talented team in our league.”
The Sun Belt’s headquarters are in New Orleans, and that’s where they’ll stay, even though the conference won’t have a team in the city. Also: The conference won’t be looking to replace a team after UNO leaves. Hurrah for that.
It’s been a swift, under-the-radar transition for UNO, which announced it was demoting itself to D III in mid-November. Now, if we could only get another, oh, 50 or so schools to leave Division I, we’ll all be better for it.
Sun Belt Conference accepts New Orleans’ withdrawal {New Orleans Times Picayune}
We are not better for New Orleans dropping to Division III, we are worse for it. It is schools like New Orleans that best represent of notion of student athletes. Now, there will be less kids living the dream of playing Division I athletics while getting a quality education for free.