By Jimmy Dominguez, Executive Editor & Deshawn Pouper, Staff Reporter
Cal State Dominguez Hills plans to slash Toros Athletics by at least 28 percent next year, according to university administrators. CSUDH announced the plan on Nov. 18, during a meeting between Student Affairs Vice President William Franklin, Associated Students, Inc. President Edgar Mejia-Alezano and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
The planned cuts come amid leadership changes at the department and the broader California State University budget crisis.
For weeks, Toros Athletics students and staff had heard rumblings that the department would face drastic cuts as the university wrestled with how best to respond to the crisis. The university is currently preparing its budget proposal for the CSU Chancellor’s Office. The Bulletin previously reported that CSUDH will cut $12 million from its base operating budget for the 2025-2026 academic year.
“There is not a cavalry of state or CSU systemwide resources and reserves coming over the hill to rescue us,” wrote CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham in a message emailed to campus on Nov. 1. During an interview with The Bulletin on Nov. 14, Parham said Toros Athletics would see cuts, but there were currently no plans to shutter the department.
“Every department, including ours, is in deficit almost every year trying to support what we do support,” Parham said.
The hour-and-a-half meeting between Franklin and SAAC aimed to address concerns from student-athletes. (Full disclosure: Sports editor Jeremy Dent-Smith is a member of the Toro men’s basketball team and a SAAC representative. To avoid a potential conflict of interest, Dent-Smith did not oversee the editorial process of this article.)
ASI student fees help to support student-athlete scholarships, but Toros Athletics also receives funds through vendors and private donors. Franklin told SAAC the university receives about $4.5 million every year and usually goes over budget by $500,000.
Franklin said the 28-percent cut was the university’s way of approaching that aspect of the budget crisis fairly and proportionately. There may be layoffs, he added, but the university would provide further information about the budget during the Athletics town hall meeting on Nov. 25.
Franklin’s announcement shocked some attendees, who had heard speculation within the department that the university was planning a 25-percent cut.
“When [Franklin] explained it to us better, I understood where he was coming from, but it was a very political answer,” said SAAC representative Iris Udemezue, a senior on the Cheer team. “It seemed anytime somebody would ask him a question, he would find a way to answer the question without answering it.”
Sophomore golfer, Harley Yang, another SAAC representative, echoed Udemezue’s perspective about the meeting.
“It was reasonable at first – that’s if you look at it at face value,” Yang said. “When he talked about these issues, he didn’t really give clear answers.”
Yang added that SAAC members are still finding “better ways to communicate” issues with the administration.
The Bulletin contacted Mejia-Alezano about the cuts explained to SAAC, but he referred instead to the budget section of ASI’s website.
“I can confirm that ASI’s budget includes continued funding for athletic scholarships,” Mejia-Alezano wrote in an email to The Bulletin on Nov. 19. “We support Athletics by promoting game schedules and activities to highlight student-athletes’ contributions.”
In addition, The Bulletin contacted Franklin for information about the source of funding for Toros Athletics and to confirm that the department would be reduced by 28 percent. In an email on Nov. 19, Franklin said “ASI represents only a tiny portion of Athletics’ overall budget,” and declined to comment about the cuts, instead referring to the upcoming town hall.
“Engaging with Athletics to discuss the current challenges and opportunities before commenting to any media outlet is essential,” Franklin said. “I am happy to answer any questions you may have after the detailed conversation with Athletics on the 25th.”
Another SAAC meeting is scheduled on Dec. 2 for representatives who are unable to attend the town hall, Franklin said.
“These conversations are vital and will continue.”
Waterfield named interim Athletics Director
The proposed cuts come at a peculiar time for Toros Athletics. The university placed director Eric McCurdy on administrative leave this past August, just prior to the start of the fall semester. The university named Brett Waterfield, the CSUDH executive director of educational partnerships, as interim director. Waterfield has worked for CSUDH since 2019.
The circumstances surrounding McCurdy’s leave are unclear, and Franklin did not offer further insight during his meeting with SAAC or whether McCurdy would return. The Bulletin contacted the President’s office for details, but since the question was related to a personnel matter, Parham could only confirm that McCurdy was still with the department.
McCurdy was named director of Toros Athletics in late 2022. The Bulletin contacted McCurdy for comment, but did not receive a response at press time.
Kisha Calbert, a Toros Athletics academic counselor, told The Bulletin the university notified the department about McCurdy’s replacement one week before the start of the semester.
Parham said he chose not to make a campus-wide announcement, but Franklin notified Toros Athletics about Waterfield’s appointment. Waterfield’s position is not permanent, the president added, so his selection was not subject to a full search process.
Waterfield was the best fit for the role of director, Franklin told SAAC members, because he had experience managing large budgets. Further, he would remain in the position until McCurdy returned or the department hired a permanent replacement. Franklin added that he would address the leadership issues with Parham.
“Our hope is that there will be a suitable replacement that, obviously, has the experience with college athletics,” Calbert said. “But I don’t know what Dr. Franklin’s game plan is for that position.”
Athletics focused on championships, not “chaos”
Toros are wrapping up the fall regular season, and talk of the university’s budget problems come at an inconvenient time, said men’s soccer coach Eddie Soto. The program won its 11th CCAA Championship on Nov. 17, defeating Cal Poly Pomona – it’s the Toros’ second title in the last three seasons.
“It’s a huge interruption right now,” Soto said. “It should be the last thing on anyone’s mind.”
Graduate men’s basketball guard David Cheatom told The Bulletin college sports has afforded people like him the opportunity to pursue their academic goals.
“Athletics is a very important part for some people,” Cheatom said. “I would love to see [CSUDH] still continue to give in to athletics for sure…I think it’s important to see that when you do fun programs like that, you give kids like me a chance.”
Calbert said coaches and staff have made a concerted effort not to let “the budget chaos and leadership” disrupt operations and the goals of student-athletes. She said Parham has been “fairly candid” about the reality of the budget crisis, and although there have been conversations about whether the department could end up on the chopping block, the president stands in support of Toros Athletics.
“That is absolutely something that [Parham] does not want to do,” Calbert said. “Has it been a conversation? Yes. Has it been a serious conversation? I don’t think so.”
Editor’s note — Dec. 11, 2024: In an email to The Bulletin on Nov. 26, Student Affairs Vice President William Franklin said SAAC members had misinterpreted his comments. The full update regarding his comments about the proposed budget cuts to Toros Athletics can be found here.
