UC Irvine to Reinstate Men’s Track and Cross-Country : Anteaters: Programs will be maintained on a non-scholarship basis for at least two years despite funding shortfall.

With the opening meet of the cross-country season three weeks away, UC Irvine’s men’s team learned Friday that it has a reason to train.

The university announced that it will reinstate its men’s track and cross-country programs on a non-scholarship basis for at least two years, even though supporters fell far short of the fund-raising goal the university issued in June.

“It’s been a hard summer, trying to train and trying to think about ways of raising money,” said Mike Nielsen, a senior runner. “I’m glad they decided to keep us around.”

Athletes and coaches learned in May that the two programs, along with baseball, were to be discontinued because of financial problems.

Baseball supporters accepted the decision, but track and cross-country supporters persuaded Horace Mitchell, vice chancellor for student affairs, to give them an opportunity to raise the funding themselves. Mitchell and Tom Ford, who since has resigned as athletic director, issued a strongly worded memo in June pledging to revive the sports only if $70,000 cash could be raised by Aug. 3.

That deadline was later extended and the goal was cut by a third. Finally, Mitchell gave his approval Friday even though only $28,000 was raised--only $10,000 of it in cash.

The university will add at least $5,000 in additional funding, Mitchell pledged. He also contributed a personal donation, supporters said.

“The university has demonstrated a more-than-willing commitment to working with us and arriving at a satisfactory solution for the benefit of everyone,” said Bob Hild, who spearheaded the fund drive in support of his son Brian Hild, a senior runner. “The most important thing is getting the programs reinstated to continue the tradition at the school. . . . We probably should not lose sight of all the many large and small donations from people we have somehow touched a chord with.”

Though the programs have been revived, they have not emerged unscathed. Two of the track team’s premier athletes, sprinter Dustin James and heptathlete and long-jumper Marieke Veltman, have already transferred to other schools.

James, who is transferring to USC, and Veltman, who plans to go to UCLA, are two of the three Irvine athletes who qualified to compete in the NCAA championships last spring. The third, middle-distance runner Traci Goodrich, will stay at Irvine. Though the women’s programs were not targeted to be discontinued, Veltman left in protest of the decision involving the men and because she believed coaching in her events would be affected.

“It’s not going to be an easy task this year,” said Coach Vince O’Boyle, who had considered leaving for another job after the sports were dropped but now says he has made a commitment to Mitchell to stay. “We’ll be reconstructing the program.”

One bright spot, O’Boyle said, is that the uncertainty did not affect the decision of a top recruit, Tonya Brix, a middle-distance runner from University High School who will attend Irvine.

O’Boyle’s immediate concern is preparing the men’s cross-country team for the approaching season.

“Most of the cross-country guys I’ve talked to have not done their homework over the summer,” he said. “It will be an uphill battle.”

Word began to spread among the runners Friday afternoon that it is time to train with purpose.

“When they made the decision to cut, a part of me died,” said Brian Hild. “I’d go out for runs, and I’d enjoy running, but the competitive side of me seemed to drift away.

“I’m excited that we’re back, but at the same time, a side of me is saying it should have never happened in the first place. One side says rejoice, be happy, celebrate, go run. The other side says you’ve spent the whole summer on something that shouldn’t have been done in the first place.

“I think that during the meetings, over the course of trying to figure out fund-raising ideas, Tom Ford and Horace Mitchell saw the personal side of the decision. They saw the character of the individuals behind the decision.”

Barbara Camp, acting athletic director, cited the supporters’ commitment as the major reason for the decision.

“We are really excited the track supporters have demonstrated a commitment to helping us raise the funding for the program,” Camp said. “We are confident they’ll continue to do this in the future.”

Not very long ago, it was a future that O’Boyle doubted would exist.

“I never thought it would come back, personally,” he said. “With the way the economy is today, that goal of $70,000 is a hard goal to reach. I’m just thankful the university looked favorably on the tradition of the program and the success it has had.”

Just last season, the men’s cross-country team won the Big West title.

“Now we have a shot at defending it,” O’Boyle said.

In a related move, former Irvine women’s track coach Danny Williams will be named the athletic department’s director of marketing and promotions. Williams’ coaching position was eliminated in the shuffling of responsibilities in the track program in May, but he had been employed on a temporary basis pending the decision on reviving the men’s teams.