A group of Skidmore alumni is trying to raise enough money to save the school’s ice hockey team.
President Philip Glotzbach said recently Skidmore would discontinue the team after this season, following a lengthy review of the school’s athletic and recreation offerings.
Skidmore coach Paul Dion told the Albany Times Union that alumni have raised at least $1 million to try to save the program. He said the yearly operating costs of the program are $125,000.
Citing alumni, the Post-Star of Glens Falls, N.Y., said the Skidmore administration has asked for an endowment of between $3 million and $4 million to save the program.
The Times-Union quoted Jeff Segrave, the Skidmore athletic director, as saying the hockey program takes 15 percent of the college’s athletic department budget and that the school was facing a projected $5.2 million deficit through 2008.
A petition on www.saveskidmorehockey.com has generated more than 2,200 responses, most identifying themselves as Skidmore alumni or students.
The Times-Union said Glotzbach is expected to announce within the next two weeks if there’s any chance the program can be saved.
