skip navigation

Op-Ed: Despite changes, Wisconsin Collegiate Conference to continue on strong

06/18/2019, 9:15am CDT
By George Hayes, Wisconsin Collegiate Conference Commissioner

Statement from Wisconsin Collegiate Conference commissioner George Hayes:

The University of Milwaukee at Waukesha and Washington released a statement to sunset competitive conference athletics on their campuses at the end of the 2019-20 academic year. In that release, it was stated that the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference was being dissolved as well. The WCC is not dissolving. While it is true that neither UW-Colleges or UW-System will be providing financial support for the WCC, there are plans in place for the conference to continue and thrive moving forward.

The Athletic Directors of the WCC have been aware of the pending changes and have worked proactively to ensure that the student athletes on our campuses continue to be given the opportunities to compete and learn from athletics. The WCC and its member athletic departments are disappointed in the decision to eliminate athletics on these campuses.  Additionally, we are surprised that incomplete and inaccurate information about our conference was cited as a reason for the decision. Please visit our website (www.wccwis.org) to stay up to date with all of our member schools and their athletic programs.

The decision to end athletics on these two campuses will affect the other members of the WCC. Washington and Waukesha have consistently sponsored teams in every conference sport. Only one other school in the conference currently participates in every sport. The loss of Washington and Waukesha may make it difficult for the conference to continue to offer certain sports. These two schools are critical to the strength of the WCC.

The conference is hopeful that those responsible for making the decision to sunset athletics on these two campuses will reconsider. There are so many benefits to the students who participate in athletics and to the students who enjoy being fans of the teams that represent Washington and Waukesha.

George J. Hayes
Commissioner of Athletics
Wisconsin Collegiate Conference

Tag(s): News Archive  BBB News  WCC