Following months of worry and speculation, the wait for Missouri State's men's team is over. And the wait was worth it.

In a shake-up of the Missouri State athletic program, the swimmers were spared. For the past six months the Intercollegiate Athletics Priorities Committee deliberated the future of the athletic department with a view of not whether sports were to be cut, but rather which ones? Ultimately the committee recommened the elimination of all men's track and field programs (indoor, outdoor and cross country) along with men's and women's tennis. The committee considered each program based upon its 1) ability to compete; 2) academic record of student-athletes; 3) record of integration into campus and University culture; and 4) ability to live within its budget and be as financially independent as possible.

On those counts, the swimming team, came out smelling like roses. The Bears are defending Missouri Valley champions and Mid-Major Division I champions. They currently sit atop the CollegeSwimming.com Mid-Major Rankings. From a competitiveness standpoint, only men's baseball was judged by the committee as having a higher ability to compete. Academically the Bears also shined , posting a 979 academic progress report score from the NCAA, well above the national, and the men's swimming average.

"It was not if sports were to be cut, but which ones," said Randy Horner, MSU associate head coach, "The Mid Major Rankings helped to plead a case for a noteworthy program" though mid-majors rarely garner attention in the larger Division I poll.

Nietzel indicated he has reached some preliminary decisions consistent with the committee’s recommendations, that he will reflect on those decisions for a few more days, and he will then finalize his decisions in the form of a final recommendation to the Board of Governors at its regularly scheduled December meeting on Dec. 16. Nietzel wants to give student-athletes and coaches affected by the decisions as much time as possible to consider their futures.

“This is not a position I would prefer to be in,” says Nietzel, “but it is a discussion we are forced to have in order to deal with potential budget cuts and to fund our priorities. The reality is that the University’s subsidy to intercollegiate athletics will likely decrease in the future while the cost of the program, especially in scholarships, will increase. Simply put, we are no different than any of the other schools in our conference on this score – we cannot afford to sustain 21 sports and be successful in all of them.

The move will leave Missouri State with six men’s sports, the NCAA minimum for D1. It will also leave the university, President Nietzel believes, in compliance with Title IX, adding, "I believe strongly in providing opportunities for both men and women and Title IX ensures that we live up to that pledge. What Title IX and the Office of Civil Rights don’t address is how we work within the budget we have. To my knowledge, the OCR has not offered the University any funding to help support any of its sports."