I can certainly understand other students’ frustration with the lack of enough sports and recreation facilities on campus but suggesting getting rid of the sports that supposedly do not bring in enough revenue is not the remedy. The importance of every varsity SDSU sport cannot be overlooked. According to the 2005-2006 Jackrabbit Athletics Annual Report, the athletic department generates 11 percent of the money that comes into SDSU. That is more than what the corporate sponsors provide to our university. However, most of this money from the athletic department is not from ticket sales alone. There are only a few athletic teams in the nation that generate enough money through ticket sales to cover their budgets. Even the most “popular” SDSU sports like football and basketball are dependent on outside donations and student fees to fund their programs. In addition, the raise in student fees is not to fund sports teams but to fund the building of the new wellness center. In a previous Letter to the Editor, a student firmly recommended the removal of the women’s soccer team and the men’s tennis team as varsity SDSU athletic teams. The removal of a team is not based on personal preference or the bias of a few students. Students for the most part are misinformed on the allocation of money and scholarships among the athletic programs. Each sport has a NCAA D-I maximum number of full-ride scholarships it can give out. Next fall several SDSU teams will be completely funded. However, not all sports receive the same amount of funding with many not even receiving enough money to make one full scholarship. (For more detailed scholarship info visit GoJacks.com) As far as basing a team’s “worth” off of attendance, last year the soccer team had the third highest home game attendance out of all the women’s sports, behind women’s basketball and volleyball. The women’s soccer team was the first and only SDSU team to bring home a conference tournament trophy at the Division I level so far by winning the United Soccer Conference last fall. The logical conclusion: drop a successful and improving team. The one thing most people do not understand or even think about is the enormous pride student-athletes feel when we put on our Jackrabbit uniforms and step out on the field or court. No matter if we are playing in front of 6,000 fans or just 10 we always feel extremely honored to represent our school. Every SDSU Varsity athlete has trained most of their lives to play at the college level and many have traveled hundreds of miles away from home so that they can compete as a Jackrabbit. For that reason, every SDSU sport deserves respect and recognition from fellow students and faculty no matter if the sport is a “popular” sport or not.

Kellyn FarrellSophomore, broadcast journalism