Colleges continue to slash tennis programs amid budget worries
University tennis teams are struggling to survive in the new world order of college sports.
Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. If that's the case, then four college programs electing to disband their tennis operations in the span of a week is certainly a trend, and a troubling one at that. Reports indicate that Arkansas, Saint Louis, Illinois State and North Dakota have all elected to drop tennis, with Arkansas, Saint Louis and South Dakota opting to discard both their men's and women's squads.
Illinois State will only be disbanding their men's team. Like many other industries, college athletics are prone to copycat decisions as much as anyone else. If schools see other programs saving money by eliminating tennis programs, others are sure to consider it as well.
“The whole college tennis community is in shock... it strikes fear in every coach across the country. ” Intercollegiate Tennis Association CEO to @achristovichh in today's @FOS Sunday Memo: https://t.
co/TnjFT3v1Qn — Daniel Roberts (@readDanwrite) May 3, 2026 College Sports Wire 's Lauren Beasley took a closer look at the various reasons why tennis appears to be getting the short end of the stick, and why this trend is likely to continue. Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.