Northwest athletics take on budget cuts

Posted 7/21/16

“The budget cuts are going to have a continuing, long-term effect on every department at NWC, including athletics,” outgoing athletic director Steve Burmaster said. “While scholarships were not cut for this coming year, due to prior financial …

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Northwest athletics take on budget cuts

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State budget cuts are being felt in many areas throughout Wyoming and are even reaching into the Northwest College athletic programs which, while not having an impact quite yet, will be felt in the future.

“The budget cuts are going to have a continuing, long-term effect on every department at NWC, including athletics,” outgoing athletic director Steve Burmaster said. “While scholarships were not cut for this coming year, due to prior financial commitments made by the coaches as part of the recruiting process, there will be additional cuts forthcoming in the ensuing years.”

And with the cuts looming, coaches like Trapper volleyball’s Shaun Pohlman are in a tough position in the recruiting process.

“If I have someone that says they want to come play for us, I can’t say I don’t know what I can offer,” he said. “While we are in a bit of limbo, we also don’t want to lose out on kids that might go to Sheridan, or Central, or another school in the region.

“We have to take into consideration the hardships the whole state is feeling ... so it is a fine line that we’re dealing with,” he added. “We’re at a place where we have a good plan, but are still trying to finalize some things.”

Part of that plan, of course, is for the sports to fend for themselves.

“The goal is for the athletic department to come up with creative fundraising to fill in the shortfall,” Burmaster said. “There have already been some efforts by individual coaches.”

Coaches like Pohlman, who sees it less as an individual team issue and more in the sense of the teams as a group.

“We’re actually going to come together as a sports department,” he said. “It has been the case where if a particular sport needed supplemental funds, they go out and raise them. But if we join forces and work together, we’ll all be better off in the long run, rather than having a dog-eat-dog scenario.”

There is, of course, a mistaken impression that can be had as one realizes the long-standing success of Trapper sports.

“You walk into our gym and see a lot of banners up which shows our rich history with our athletic programs,” Pohlman said. “Sometimes from an outsider’s perspective, they think that since we’ve been so good, we must be well off and swimming in money, but that’s far from the truth.”

And while not well off before, NWC athletics will be even less so moving forward.

“Now, even more so, we have to understand that while we’re supported as well as we can be, we have to figure out other ways,” Pohlman said. “Great things can be born out of unfortunate circumstances. We’ve cinched our belts and want to be prudent, but not too prudent, walk the thin line and stay ahead of the curve.”

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