Stanford Revives 11 Sports Teams After ‘Improvement’ in Markets

(Bloomberg) -- Stanford University is reinstating 11 sports after the school discontinued them for economic reasons last July during the pandemic.

After improvement in financial markets in the last 10 months and individuals stepping up with fundraising pledges, the school changed course, adding back sports including men’s and women’s fencing, co-ed and women’s sailing and squash, the school said Tuesday in a statement.

Stanford, an athletics powerhouse in California, is one of the richest U.S. colleges, with an endowment of $30 billion.

“The financial challenges facing Stanford athletics are still very real,” President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, Provost Persis Drell, and Bernard Muir, director of athletics, said in the statement. “But we have new optimism based on new circumstances, including significantly improved fundraising potential in support of our athletics programs and improvement in the financial investment markets.”

Other schools cut sports teams during the pandemic, including Ivy League member Dartmouth College. Boise State University has dropped baseball, swimming and diving. Old Dominion University in Virginia cut wrestling and the University of Cincinnati discontinued men’s soccer.

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