Dear Seahawk Family,
I hope you are enjoying your summer, and as the 2010-11 academic year approaches, I want to thank you all once again for your support and loyalty to UNCW athletics. Despite increasing economic challenges, we remain committed to our pursuit of excellence as we guide, inspire and support our student-athletes. The Seahawk championship spirit continues to thrive. Three of our teams earned CAA Championship titles and five of our teams made NCAA appearances. Our drive to be champions, academically and athletically, is a reminder that Seahawks are strong and always persevere.
Recently, the General Assembly made some very tough decisions in order to reduce the size of the state budget while protecting education and other state priorities. Unfortunately, the cuts made included the elimination of tuition waivers for out-of-state student-athletes. While these cuts will impact our athletic program as well as athletic programs throughout the UNC system, our legislators showed tremendous support in funding our overall university priorities.
Our athletic program will be tasked with covering out-of-state tuition fees for student-athletes who are receiving a full athletic scholarship. Based on current numbers, our costs are roughly $650,000. It is clear that the out-of-state waivers have had a favorable impact on the Seahawks. Moving forward, our goal is to continue improving our opportunities to win by recruiting the best student-athletes locally, nationally and abroad.
Now is the time to persevere. During the past few days, I have met with our coaches and staff putting together a plan that would lead us through the upcoming athletic year. We are examining every area of our budget and preparing to stretch all of our resources in order to ensure our student-athletes continue to compete at the highest levels. We will examine ways to increase our endowment fund and expand our fundraising efforts. And lastly, we also will consider areas where potential cuts need to be made. I will continue to keep you updated as we finalize our plan.
The motto adopted by the Seahawk Club Board of Directors many years ago rings true even today, that Championships do begin with Scholarships.
Go Seahawks!
Kelly Mehrtens
Director of Athletics
