Kyle DeBerry was born to attend Arizona State University, he says. He attended his first ASU wrestling match when he was 4 years old and spent most of his adolescence dreaming of becoming the Sun Devils' next star.
"That was one of my dreams, to wrestle as a Sun Devil, wear the maroon and gold and go on to do good things, big things," he said. "Now, my dream has turned into a nightmare. And I have no control over it at all."
Arizona State administrators on Tuesday eliminated three men's sports — wrestling, tennis and swimming — in a move they say will save the university $1 million a year. ASU's athletics revenue was $53 million in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Education Web site.
No teams at the University of Arizona will be cut, officials said.
The decision to cut the programs at ASU was called a last resort, said athletic director Lisa Love and president Michael Crow.
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Wrestling, tennis and swimming were selected, Love said, based on their financial impact on the budget, potential for competitive success, regional support and gender equity.
The decision affects six fulltime coaches and 70 athletes. Included are six people with Tucson ties.
DeBerry, 19, just finished his freshman season in Tempe following a stellar career at Sunnyside High School. Tennis player John Nanosky (Ironwood Ridge) transferred to ASU from the University of Minnesota in January. Swimmers Brian Anderson (Ironwood Ridge) and Adrian Kirkpatrick (Catalina Foothills) are underclassmen who were just beginning to contribute for the Devils. Head wrestling coach Thom Ortiz and wrestling assistant Eric Larkin also wrestled for Sunnyside.
"They didn't give us any warning so we could look into other plans or other places to go," DeBerry said. "It was a big surprise to all of us."
DeBerry learned about the cuts in a phone conversation with one of the team's assistant coaches.
Nanosky, 19, found out at a team meeting.
"Probably the biggest shock of my life," he said.
Arizona State will honor the affected players' scholarships through their senior seasons and has offered to assist with any transfers.
Starting this fall, ASU will field 20 Division I-A teams — the same number as the UA.
"These moves are extremely painful," Love said in a news release. "We have arrived at the realization that funding a 20-sport program is a better fit for our financial profile and will serve to secure and strengthen our future."
University of Arizona administrators were surprised and sympathetic Tuesday. The UA athletic department cut 18 jobs in 2005 but has not cut a program in more than 20 years. Next season, Arizona will add women's water polo as a sport. Arizona athletics made $45 million last year, according to the Department of Education.
"The last thing we, or anybody, would want to do is cut programs," UA athletic director Jim Livengood said.
Senior associate athletic director Kathleen "Rocky" LaRose said the UA is "not in a position where we've even had to consider it. We've been in the black for two decades now, so we feel good about that. That's not to say we don't understand programs need to do that. We do."
The cuts, ASU's first since 1993, have left some Sun Devils questioning their futures.
DeBerry recently extended the lease on his apartment through June 2009. DeBerry's costs are more than monetary: He has a girlfriend, and buddies, and the comfort that comes with fitting in on a large campus.
Now, DeBerry and the other ASU athletes will have to relocate to compete.
Bobby DeBerry knows how his son feels. He arrived at the UA as a wrestling recruit, but before he could suit up the program was cut in 1981.
"Kyle heard the stories from me. There's no such thing as safety, especially when it comes to the Olympic sports," Bobby DeBerry said.
Bobby DeBerry stayed at the UA and went on to become one of the state's best wrestling coaches.
Kyle says he will continue his college career somewhere.
"When I signed with ASU, there was no money value I could put on that piece of paper," he said. "Now that paper, which was worth $100,000 to me — which was priceless — is just that, a piece of paper."
By the numbers
3
Sports cut Tuesday by Arizona State University
70
Athletes affected
6
Full-time coaches eliminated
$1 million
Money saved per year, ASU says
20
Intercollegiate sports offered by ASU and Arizona beginning this fall
