GRAND FORKS-Former University of North Dakota Interim President Ed Schafer says UND's budget cuts are a step in the right direction for the university.
Schafer says while the decision to cut women's hockey and the diving teams may not be a popular one with the lack of money across the university systems, cuts had to be made somewhere.
If athletics wants to keep competitive with other schools, like North Dakota State University, they have to re-prioritize their focus to different programs, he says.
Schafer says by cutting women's hockey, 18 scholarships were opened up to go to other women's athletics programs.
"University of North Dakota is going through a tough time right now - as is the whole university system," says Schafer. "We built in an infrastructure that is unaffordable today. And what happens is you just don't have the money to do everything you want to do."
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This is the second set of cuts to the university's athletics.
Last fiscal year, the men's baseball and golf teams were eliminated.
