The recent student athletic fee referendum will determine the fate or more than the athletics program itself – the fate of many student-athletes who play in those programs also hangs in the balance.

“I have heard negative talk (about the prospects of the referendum) from some of the athletes because they’re scared,” said junior softball pitcher and Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Co-President Sonja Garnett. “They bring it up in their classrooms, and one or two classmates stand up and are very against it or are going to vote no.”

Should the athletic program cease to exist, over 200 student-athletes could be faced with the unpleasant task of having to decide between finishing their academic career at SF State or playing the sport they love elsewhere.

According to the 2004-2005 NCAA Transfer Guide, transfer students must sit out a year before they can regain eligibility. Usually students in this situation will “redshirt” for a year, forcing them to sit out the following season while retaining their eligibility.

Fortunately for SF State student-athletes, the NCAA has a provision in the 2004-2005 NCAA Transfer Guide that allow students whose sports have been cut at their school, to transfer to another program without having to sit out for a year.

However, there is still the problem of finding a school to transfer to. In addition to trying to find a school with an opening, other schools may not be able to offer the same major or a major of the same quality as SF State.

“I came here for my major so I might stay here, but I might not., “ said sophomore Oscar Edwards. “It depends on how things go with the referendum.”

A forward on the basketball team and BECA major, Edwards is one of the relatively few scholarship athletes on campus.

However, further complicating the issue, students on athletic scholarships will lose their scholarships if they have no program to play in.

“We honored the scholarships this year, but if the program goes, there is no funding,” said Athletic Director Michael Simpson.

Simpson said that contrary to popular belief, there are no four-year full rides for scholarship athletes, but rather a series of one-year grants that get renewed each year.

All of this means SF State student-athletes could face some tough decisions in the upcoming months.
If the referendum fails, Edwards will have to choose between his sport and his major. Should he stay, he will have to find another way to pay for his studies.

“I know that if there’s no scholarship, I’ll have to find another means of working or something,” he said. “I want to stay out here because it’s really good for my major.

“But if I can’t afford it, I’ll have to go somewhere I can and make the best of it.”

But along with athletic and financial concerns, there are academic and social issues to take into account.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for sports,” said junior shortstop Bryan Supnet. “That’s the only reason I’m here.”

If the referendum does fail, Supnet will not transfer because academically, he is a senior. However,
Supnet said that baseball is what helped him get to the point where he could get his psychology degree.

“For me, I was lucky that I had it two ways: I had my baseball life and my school life, and I kept it pretty disciplined,” Supnet said. “For some others, they have school and baseball, and I’m not saying that baseball comes first, but that baseball is getting them through school.”

Freshmen track athletes Kristin Para and Heather Janovetz said they definitely would consider transferring should the referendum fail.

“Without sports, this school has nothing to offer me,” Para said. “Sports have been a big part of my life.”

Janovetz, like Para, said she would love to stay at SF State, but feels playing sports is too big a part of her life to give up.

“I really like San Francisco, but I came here for track,” said Janovetz.

Junior basketball forward Farryn Lewis also said she would stay at SF State should the referendum fail, but added that she would do so with a heavy heart. She said she knew coming in last year that five sports were going to be cut, but she had no idea the whole program was in jeopardy.

“This is my fourth school in four years,” Lewis said. “I’ve moved around a lot and I don’t want to move one more time. So I’ll just stay here. It’ll be sad, though.”

One common thread among the athletes, though, is their belief that the referendum will pass, and they won’t be forced to choose between sports and SF State.

“I don’t have a back-up plan because it’s going to pass,” Garnett said. “If it wouldn’t, I would definitely finish my eligibility somewhere. But my thoughts and prayers are that it does (pass) and that I get to stay here with my family.”