North Dakota To Cut Baseball Program

North Dakota said Tuesday it will cut its baseball and men’s golf teams following this school year.

In a press release, North Dakota said the decision was “based upon forecasted state revenue shortfalls, conference core sport sponsorship requirements, and Title IX compliance.”

North Dakota coach Jeff Dodson said he and his assistant coaches were informed of the decision Tuesday in a meeting with athletic director Brian Faison. The players were then informed this afternoon.

“Somber is an understatement for what people were feeling,” Dodson said. “The saddest thing is we’re not even going to get a chance to save it.”

According to a press release, the athletic department will save $2.4 million next school year as a result of the cuts.

North Dakota’s baseball program began in 1889. After spells without a team from 1917-1919 and 1921-1955, it has existed since 1956. North Dakota moved up to Division I in 2009 and had its best season last year, going 24-27.

This season, North Dakota is 6-17. It started the season with a stunning series win at then-No. 16 Southern California. Lefthander Zach Muckenhirn (2-4, 3.14) will likely be drafted in June, becoming the 14th player in program history to be selected.

After winning its first two games of the season, North Dakota lost 13 of its next 14 games. But the Fighting Hawks have played better the last two weeks, going 3-4.

“We lost a lot of one-run ball games,” Dodson said. “We’re in the process of cleaning up our mistakes.

“Now we’ve somehow got to get in a good mindset going into the game tomorrow night (at North Dakota State).”