Things are looking grim for athletics at the University of New Orleans

It is never good when emails like this start getting sent out:

TO: All NCAA institutions

FROM: James W. Miller, Director of Athletics

RE: All UNO Student Athletes

Unfortunately, the University of New Orleans is unsure of whether the Department of Athletics will continue at our institution. Because of this situation, the University of New Orleans hereby grants all institutions and coaching staff members permission to contact all of our student-athletes, in accordance to NCAA Bylaw 13.1.1.3. The sports programs that we grant permission to contact are for the following:

Baseball
Men's Basketball
Women's Basketball
Men's Golf
Men's Swimming and Diving
Women's Swimming and Diving
Men's Tennis
Women's Tennis
Women's Volleyball

Sincerely,

James W. Miller

Director of Athletics

University of New Orleans

(h/t College Sports Info)

For those that haven't heard, UNO students last week shot down a vote that would have increased the fee to attend athletics events by a 53.9%-46.1% margin. UNO is facing a $15.3 million budget cut, and $1.4 million of that is coming out of the athletics department.

Numerous people, including Hornets owner George Shinn and former UNO basketball player Gabe Corchiani, have donated money and are organizing a campaign to keep athletics alive. But UNO is a commuter school that struggles to gather enough interest in their athletics to support D1 programs (not to mention that the athletics department is not too highly regarded by many involved - read the comments section here).

For the kids sake, I hope that they find a way to support sports.