another program gone

[zippyrifle32]

the university of missouri, kansas city has announced they are dropping their rifle program. umkc has been one of the tougher teams the zips compete against in the western intercollegiate conference. any time a rifle team is disbanded it has a pretty big effect in the sport nationally since there are becoming fewer and fewer teams out there.full story here:umkc rifle team dropped

[Zips fan]

I hate to see schools dropping athletic opportunities. It has become more common for ADs to cut programs rather than work within their current budgets. It seems when teams are dropped it is quickly followed by other programs within their department getting a raise. I know rifle has a small budget but their success is a source of pride for the whole university and am glad we provide that opportunities for our students.

[Z.I.P.]

How many NCAA schools offer rifle as a championship sport? There are sports like men's volleyball, water polo and yachting that have fewer than or only around 30 competitors. Yachting on thin ice!

[zippyrifle32]

i'm pretty sure the number is now between 50-60 ncaa teams. many of the teams we shoot against are club teams (usually former varsity teams) and they've written the rules so that we can use scores shot against these club teams as qualifying scores.

[FMR]

the university of missouri, kansas city has announced they are dropping their rifle program

Always sad when programs get dropped. Tim Hall is their new Athletic Director, started in February. He left Can't State to take the job...

[Zipsrifle]

It is always a shame to see this. Unfortunately, because the sport involves guns, a large portion of the population will applaud the elimination of the sport without the slightest understanding of what it involves. I commonly tell people that Rifle is primarily a “Mental” sport, kind of like Chess. A lot of mental training is required to excel in this sport, where you focus on a circular target for hours at a time. It is physically demanding in that matches are more of an endurance type of event. If you aren’t in shape, you’ll be able to get through one, but your performance will suffer. The goal is to hit something roughly the thickness of a mechanical pencil lead from 50 feet away. Great shooters can do this roughly 90% of the time, with the remaining 10% missing by just a hair. Though I have no numbers to back me up, I’m willing to bet that Rifle has the lowest rate of injuries of any NCAA sport. Also, as someone recently posted, it uses relatively little money. I applaud U of A for their continued support of the Rifle program. Coach Engle has been building this program for years, to the point where they are on the cusp of the National Championship match nearly every year. I believe, that sometime in the near future, they will make it into that match. We have some great athletic teams at UA, but I believe the Rifle team will be the first Varsity Team Sport at UA to win a National Championship!

[timmyboy]

It is always a shame to see this. Unfortunately, because the sport involves guns, a large portion of the population will applaud the elimination of the sport without the slightest understanding of what it involves. I commonly tell people that Rifle is primarily a “Mental” sport, kind of like Chess. A lot of mental training is required to excel in this sport, where you focus on a circular target for hours at a time. It is physically demanding in that matches are more of an endurance type of event. If you aren’t in shape, you’ll be able to get through one, but your performance will suffer. The goal is to hit something roughly the thickness of a mechanical pencil lead from 50 feet away. Great shooters can do this roughly 90% of the time, with the remaining 10% missing by just a hair. Though I have no numbers to back me up, I’m willing to bet that Rifle has the lowest rate of injuries of any NCAA sport. Also, as someone recently posted, it uses relatively little money. I applaud U of A for their continued support of the Rifle program. Coach Engle has been building this program for years, to the point where they are on the cusp of the National Championship match nearly every year. I believe, that sometime in the near future, they will make it into that match. We have some great athletic teams at UA, but I believe the Rifle team will be the first Varsity Team Sport at UA to win a National Championship!

I agree. Alot of people dont even know akron has a rifle team. The coach is doing a great job and the rifle team has won back to back to back titles..... thats saying somthing. Great job University of Akron for standing behind your athletic teams and keep up the winning ways rifle team.