TUCSON, Ariz — If anyone knows about having their athletic program taken away from them, it's Pima's Jim Monaco. It was just last year when then Coach Monaco learned the college was eliminating football.
"I don't want to see that for anyone else," said Monaco. I was on the other end of that."
Now, Monaco was on the other end of a podium at in informational session that was held Monday night. He's trying to prevent it from becoming game-set-match for tennis, golf, cross country, and tack.
"It's important to student activity."
The announcement on this night is that those sports are safe through the spring of 2021.
"Having that extra year gives you some breath. It keeps you going."
However, the college needs to fundraise to maintain a $2.1 million dollar budget. And, it can't afford a lack of enrollment. The recent sponsorship from Adidas and Champan Automotive is just not enough.
"With the money we're bringing in right now, we're just covering shortfalls."
Another possibility is for Pima to replace the earlier mentioned sports. The Aztecs are considering starting up beach volleyball, lacrosse, even e-sports.
"Every college in our conference in our state has e-sports, competitively, so we're looking at it because the students want it, and that's something we need to do. I want people to understand that we are working very hard. It's not a cure-all, but its something to give us a chance to work to, and also let the public know this is what we need to do to keep our athletic department healthy."
