Gerakos: UC Irvine Baseball ‘Is Not Dead Yet’

The UC Irvine baseball team, fearful for its future, lowered the flag to half-staff for the final game of the season Sunday, and some players fashioned black armbands out of electrical tape.

But Irvine baseball Coach Mike Gerakos hopes their mourning is premature. “The program is not dead yet,” he said Monday.

Irvine, facing an athletic department budget deficit of more than $500,000 by the end of next year, has said it probably will have to cut some sports programs, and baseball’s $200,000 budget makes it a possible target.

Gerakos, who hopes to know something by early next week, met Monday with Athletic Director Tom Ford.

“All I know is the department and the administration across campus are trying to come up with various solutions that won’t impact any sports, let alone baseball,” Gerakos said. “I believe in being an optimist. We still have a program.”

The players’ actions came in response to a briefing Gerakos gave them Saturday regarding the possible discontinuation of the program.

“It was their form of protest,” he said. “There’s been a tremendous amount of support from the players, the families, the community. It’s out of our hands.

“We’re hoping something will be done within the next two days, if not, by (May 21). Which could mean a long eight days for yours truly.”

Irvine’s baseball program is not the only team imperiled by the budget problems.

Although men’s and women’s basketball are considered safe from discontinuation, they are not immune from the cutbacks that the school’s 17 other sports teams will face. Although several programs could be targeted for discontinuation, the NCAA mandates that a Division I school without football maintain seven men’s teams and seven women’s teams.

“Everybody is looking to get hammered,” said Coach Ted Newland, who recently donated $20,000 of his own money to his water polo program. “I think every sport is in danger of being eliminated but women’s and men’s basketball.”