EMU is a MAC school, and MAC schools are the best case study in cutting not only tennis programs, but athletic programs in general. If you start digging around on the internet you will see everywhere that the MAC schools are having budgeting issues left and right. They threw all their eggs into football in the eighties, and have gotten no results. And in order to keep a D-I football status, they have to at least keep up with football at a premier level. The Athletic directors at these schools during the 70's and 80's, when the MAC was a I-AA conference, felt they could have a conference to rival the BIG, and pushed to not only get that sort of recognition but signed their lives away hoping their football and basketball programs would carry the financial burden. They are all sitting on unmanageable, empty stadiums on Saturday, have sub-par interest from their student bodies in sports; have gotten into an arms race with their BIG neighbors for student athletes, state budgets, and facilities; all while trying to also support the equivalent women's sports program opportunities. Bowling Green, Ohio, Miami, Kent State, and Akron got rid of tennis long ago. In some cases both programs! Had nothing to do with Internationals, and everything to do with a commitment to a couple of sports they felt were their cash cows. They are stuck with these albatross programs, and have little choice but to cut programs. Tennis being one as this is to many athletic directors (Mostly football guys) a recreation sport run outside of the NCAA, with little interest and more interest in the club aspect. So to them, students are just as happy supporting that without any cost to the school.
Not a fan of the International domination of tennis, but I think these programs get cut even if Americans were playing, because many of them got cut way back when Americans were playing.
