Running at Tulane no Moore

Tulane junior and Nevada High School graduate Michael Moore (left) competes in a cross country meet last season. Tulane has since cut the sport. [Click to enlarge]

When the Tulane University athletics department made cuts last month to save money in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, a Nevada High School graduate was one of those most affected.

Michael Moore, a 2003 Nevada alum, was a member of the Tulane men's cross country team. As a junior this year, he was in line to be the number three or four runner on the five-person varsity squad.

That was until the Green Wave dropped their men's cross country program into the ocean.

"I guess that's the way it ends for me," Moore said of his athletics career.

Moore's team was among eight that were cut by the school, which was not among the hardest physically hit by the hurricane. Men's track, women's swimming, women's soccer, and both men's and women's golf and tennis teams were also given the axe.

While Tulane did see some damage to lower levels of buildings from the flooding, the school was in an area of town that didn't sustain the devastation often seen on television.

That didn't change the fact that the school was unable to hold classes in the fall. Moore was among the thousands of Tulane students that attended school elsewhere, temporarily studying at the University of Missouri, in Columbia.

One of the sidebars to Tulane not holding classes was not being able to host any athletic events. That meant no income for the athletics department from games -- basketball especially, the lifeblood of most Division I athletics programs.

Not all sports were cut. Football, men's and women's basketball, baseball, volleyball, women's track and women's cross country are all represented by the Green Wave.

While that will put Tulane under the NCAA Division I minimum of 16 sports, the university was given a five-year waiver by the NCAA because of the economic hardships brought on by the natural disaster.

The son of Ted and Candice Moore of Nevada, Michael learned of the school's decision to cut his sport during Christmas break.

"He was devastated," Ted Moore said.

"It was pretty rough," Michael said. "I would have really liked to run this last year, my last year of eligibility."

Moore would have run in the fall of 2006 as a senior. This spring, the junior is studying abroad this semester, spending it in London, England.

Moore was struck by the hurricane in more ways than just athletics. The building he was living in had damage to the lower floors, and Michael's bedroom happened to be on a level that was affected. He lost some clothes and furniture that were sitting in standing water for weeks.

"I lost a decent amount of clothes," Moore said. "We had invested in a table, a new mattress and a bed stand. But I got out with most of my sentimental things."

Moore is a history major who is planning on going to law school after graduating in 2007. With only one year left in his undergraduate studies, Moore will not transfer, opting instead to finish his degree at Tulane.

Moore looks back over the past few years with a mixture of frustration and satisfaction.

"I remember my last meet, and looking back, it was disappointing," he said. "But I'm lucky though. I ran all through high school. It was disappointing but I feel like I've had a decent career."