Feared Turtle Likely To Shrink

According to the Baltimore Sun, a University of Maryland commission concluded that the school cannot adequately support 27 teams and recommended eliminating eight of them to create "a leaner, stronger athletic program."

The teams, which compete in six different sports, are: men's tennis, men's track and field (indoor, outdoor and cross country), men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, women's water polo and women's acrobatics and tumbling, formerly called "competitive cheer."

The 17-member commission suggested Maryland has had to spread itself thin with so many teams -- five more than the average for the Atlantic Coast Conference's public universities. It said Maryland invests $67,389 per athlete, which ranks it 13th out of 14 schools in the newly reconfigured ACC, and that conference-leading Florida State spends $118,813.

University president Wallace Loh, who created the commission in July, is expected to make the final decisions about the teams within the next few weeks after weighing input from athletic director Kevin Anderson and others.

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