Jim Miller-

I am writing to you in shock, frustration, anger and sadness over your summary decision to eliminate the men's soccer program at the University of Richmond. Certainly, in your decision there are numerous debatable talking points. For instance, you highlight the fact that lacrosse is the fastest growing high school sport in the country. Yet, you don't mention that soccer has been in the top 10 of high school sports for years. Clearly a sport not embraced or supported under your tenure. Additionally, you talk of ensuring “access and affordability" in your press release when, in actuality, the University ranks in the top 25 in the nation in tuition fees. Clearly a school committed to a specific demographic. There are blatant discrepancies in your public vision statements and your organization's actions.

However, my point focuses on the ideology that now seems to embrace the University; clearly demonstrated by your decision. It is apparent that the University has foregone what should be incorporated within an institution of higher learning – tradition, values, commitment and dedication, among others – and has, instead welcomed big money and strong politics. I am sure your young MBA team presented you with the Net Present Value of all the 'non-revenue' sports and showed you a bottom line; minimizing losses and costs. No doubt Title IX dilemmas had you also determine that cutting a team was more cost efficient than adding a new one.

My understanding of an elite University is one which embraces it's own brand, one that relishes the successes of its programs and, more importantly, rushes to embrace and support the same programs' failures and defeats. Collegiate athletics are far greater than a 'bottom line number'.

As an active duty Commander in the United States Navy, I live under the tenets of Honor, Courage and Commitment. They are the cornerstones of my professional and personal life. These are the very minimum principles to which a University should aspire. In a time when people look for organizations and people to uphold moral courage and elevated principles, one would think that a University aspiring for national positioning would embrace and welcome such attributes. However, with a lack of leadership and closed-door politics, you helped cement into the minds of students, faculty, staff and alumnae that, what truly matters is money. Mr. Miller, I am just a modest man with modest means and naively still believe in values that are rarely exhibited these days. I truly wonder how a school with a $1.87 Billion endowment can NOT embrace such beliefs.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this entire prospect is that this email will, ultimately, fall on deaf ears. The alumnae have consistently reached out to you and the University in an attempt to help, support and embolden the program. Yet, responses were always muted. Embarrassingly for us, just last year you initiated an alumnae drive competition that we rallied behind as you readily accepted our donations with no trepidation.

Sadly, I am sure you and your department discussed the 'emotional backlash' that will initially occur. And, yes, you are probably sitting there wading through it all knowing that, over time, it will die down and you can brush us aside and move on with your "strategy". It is truly a shame that you, the Board of Trustees and the University can categorize as “acceptable” the anger, sadness and hurt of the many groups that have strongly supported the soccer program and the school over all these years.

I cherish my time as a Spider graduate and feel completely betrayed by your decision and the underlying principles the school seems to now embrace. As a combat veteran with over 20 years of military service I can tell you that I have made very difficult decisions in my life to include putting myself and fellow wingmen and aircrew in harms way. However, those decisions seem to pale in comparison to the decision I must now try to make; determining my future ties to a school I truly loved.

Sincerely,

CDR Carlisle Lustenberger, US Navy
RC ’91 RL ‘98

Dear Mr. Miller,

As a soccer coach who has been part of the incredible growth of soccer in Richmond during the last thirty years, I am extremely disappointed at the current decision to remove men's soccer as a varsity sport at the University of Richmond. I also volunteered as an assistant coach with Tim O'Sullivan when he was at the helm of Spider soccer, and I also worked for many years at the Spider Soccer Camp - which became one of the most successful camps in the state. I moved with Coach O'Sullivan when he moved to VCU and coached with him for a number of years until my other career obligations increased. Also, very importantly, I am also a true proud Spider, as I received my M.A. from the university.

As a result, imagine my complete dismay and total disbelief when you recently announced the decision to replace soccer with lacrosse. Soccer is the number one sport in the world - no other sport has its universal impact. For many years, the sport thrived at U of R , I remember attendances of 2,000 and more for games against UVA and William and Mary. In many ways U of R was at the center of the dramatic growth of the sport in the Richmond area. This was definitely reflected when the NCAA Tournament was successfully held in Richmond bringing national attention to the university.

By 2012, many in the local soccer community felt that the program was lacking in direction - the appointment of Leigh Cowlishaw, even as an interim coach, definitely gained the attention of the community. Finally, many of us in the soccer community felt that the university was renewing its commitment to a sport that had 'lost its way'. My middle son, Evan, plays for Longwood who played U of R a week ago - I was impressed by Leigh Cowlishaw's work with the team, I left the game saying to myself, "In time, his coaching ability, commitment and love for U of R will turn this program around."

The rational that U of R wants to appeal to students in the North East was laughable and almost ridiculed by many Richmonders and Spider fans that I have spoken with. If that is the case, then mover the university to Boston or Hartford. Dropping the world's most popular sport at a prestigious university makes absolutely no sense.

Most importantly, the university has now created a special moment when it can reconsider its decision. Those people that have failed to grasp the true impact can now make an even better decision by restoring men's soccer as a varsity sport. Reconsidering a decision that does not reflect the university in a good light can only be a positive - I hope you have the courage to do so.

Sincerely,

Ted Jones

Since visiting the University of Richmond several years ago with my son, I was favorably impressed with the school and its administration. I was shocked to learn about the recent decision to replace soccer with lacrosse, which apparently is the beneficiary of a $3 million anonymous donation. In defending its decision, the President of the University indicated there is limited funding for sports in aggregate. The decision was made without any input from the student body as apparently students were not considered sensible enough to have a say in matters such as this. The administration’s treatment of its soccer and track athletes lacks compassion. By apparently selling one of its limited slots for sports to the highest bidder, the Board of Trustees has shown a lack of integrity. Replacing the greatest international sport with a relatively provincial sport also shows a lack of wisdom. The entire decision-making process demonstrated poor judgment on many levels. The Board of Trustees could redeem itself by finding a creative way to allow soccer and track to continue. If in fact the University is not large enough to handle soccer and lacrosse, of course the correct course would be to allow the beautiful game (i.e., soccer) to continue.

President Ayers,

For the past two weeks, I’ve found myself waking up at about 5 am every morning and narrating letters to you in my head while lying in bed. The topics vary from day to day –

Ethics – how the University can contemplate a landscape changing decision like eliminating the Men’s Soccer and Track teams while never disclosing that possibility to the student body and an alumni steering committee that had been seemingly working with the Athletic Department and Development Office for nearly 2 years,

Transparency – how an Athletics Strategic plan was formulated without key stakeholder input and why it cannot be shared in its entirety with the University community,

Special-interest – how sacrificing the good of the many for the desires of the few could be seen as the right thing to do when in reality it only serves to weaken a far reaching foundation of trust that has taken generations to build, and

Leadership – how a man who has built a personal brand of credibility over many years could sacrifice it all by not being able to take direction from his most important constituents.

I’ve read most everything there is to read on this topic-at least the information available for public consumption. I initially believed the University’s strategy to lay this decision at the feet of the impersonal, faceless Board of Trustees was brilliant; no need to put you or the Athletic Director in the line of fire. Since the University community hadn’t heard from you in the first week, I held in my heart that the man I’ve broken bread with on numerous occasions over the past 5 years and grew to admire as a man of strong moral character wasn’t part of this. However, based on your comments Sunday night, I’ve come to realize that I was wrong. Nonetheless, I still have faith that someone who prides himself as being “in-touch” with his students, faculty, and alumni will eventually see the light.

Like many in the University community, I’m still searching for the reason why the University would voluntarily disenfranchise thousands of constituents and throw away decades of goodwill. It is easy for those of us who have engaged in strategic planning discussions and development meetings with any variety of University personnel to recognize the reasoning you, the Athletic Department, and the Board of Trustees have provided is contrived. While you and the others suggest that this issue was evaluated from every angle, it clearly missed the most important one – public opinion. It is not a talent to take “research” and spin it into an argument to justify a self-serving decision. Companies mistakenly go-to-market everyday with products and services that somebody behind the scenes thought was brilliant and was supported by all the data they had at their disposal. But GREAT companies don’t prolong a bad decision by continuing to tell the customer they know their wants and needs better than themselves. They LISTEN to the customer, they change the decision, and they pull the product. These are often the most courageous decisions leaders need to make.

I’ve served on Richmond’s Alumni Recruitment Committee for over 10 years. The quality of the students I’ve interviewed during that time has consistently improved year-over-year. These students are coming from the best schools Atlanta has to offer – The Lovett School, Pace Academy, Marist, and many others. I’m also privileged to receive a summary of the admissions results every year and those statistics further prove that the quantity and quality of our applicants are improving as well. To suggest that adding lacrosse at the expense of Soccer and Track will open a pipeline to key high schools is illogical and insulting. What are you saying about our current student body and the schools we draw from today? Are they somehow inferior because they aren’t lacrosse factories?

You also commented that Richmond’s student-athletes as a percentage of the student body is one of the highest in the country. So what? Please explain to me, a former academic, all-conference member of the men’s soccer team, why this is bad. I attribute most everything I’ve accomplished in my professional career to my experience on the University of Richmond Men’s Soccer Team. The ability to perform in the classroom and on the field is a unique and special gift. The experiences of being part of a team, continuously investing in practice and preparation, dealing with adversity, recovering from disappointment, and simply competing day-in and day-out are attributes that every employer in the world looks for. I find it hard to believe that producing more of these individuals would be a negative for the University. The decision to eliminate the two highest GPA sports on campus clearly puts the emphasis on the wrong part of the “student-athlete” designation. Are you not trying to produce the best students? Are you not interested in developing real-world skills employers want?

We have a saying in my company “kill the snake”. It derives from Ross Perot’s famous quote “if you see a snake, kill it; don’t form a committee on snakes.” It simply means that when you see something that is so obviously broken, you fix it, you don’t continue to pretend it isn’t there. Well, there is a snake at the University of Richmond. Your students see it. Your faculty sees it. Your alumni see it. The Richmond community sees it. And a growing part of the country sees it. I’m pretty sure you see it. It’s time to kill the snake and reinstate the Men’s Soccer and Track teams.

Ritt Carrano
ECRSB ‘91
Men’s Soccer ’87 – ‘90