The future of campus athletics became the spotlight issue of the A.S. Council’s longest meeting so far this year, with an appearance from several key administrators that called into question whether or not UCSD will remain a Division-II school, and if certain sports will be cut in the near future.

NCAA President Emeritus Cedric Dempsey, who analyzed and reported on the state of Triton athletics, spoke to the council regarding his recommendations to increase funding, ranking and spirit among the campus community.

“A major problem is funding for the program,” Dempsey said. “It is severely underfunded in comparison to other schools.”

Regarding the school’s official standing, Dempsey expressed concern that UCSD may not be able to remain a Division-II school without offering athletic scholarships to prospective students, as required by the NCAA. He also worried that UCSD’s choice of 23 sports could put the athletics program at risk for underdeveloping the overall programs, putting the school at a potential competitive and funding disadvantage.

Dempsey’s presentation was carefully watched by the unusually large presence of UCSD administrators, including Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Joseph W. Watson, Associate Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Edward Spriggs and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Earl W. Edwards. Suffice to say, the miffed glances passed every time Dempsey mentioned a lack of university support for athletics were priceless.

After the hour-long presentation had finished, the council returned to its normal business, which went smoothly until a disagreement sprung up over how much to fund the Eleanor Roosevelt College Council for a town hall meeting.

What was originally a request for $98 fluctuated between amounts of $50 to $100, with some senators arguing that the amount was too much, too little and unfair in relation to amounts already spent on a similar event held by the Revelle College Council.

“This is setting an egregious example of double standards for A.S. events,” Vice President Finance Conrad Ohashi said, when a motion was made to double the funding by the finance committee.

However, not all senators were fans of the $100 compromise.

“In essence, we’re still screwing over Revelle,” Thurgood Marshall College Junior Senator Kyle Samia pointed out.

However, a “cool idea!” from Commissioner of Programming Di Lam saved the day, when she proposed that the council purchase its own speaker system to keep the cost of music for A.S. events low, which proved a more widely received alternative.

“I’m still concerned about Revelle,” Samia began.

“We’re fine!” two Revelle senators chimed in simultaneously.

With that, the event was funded the $100 and the situation was resolved as quickly as it began.