Reality smacked Sid Pandit.

Twice.

The first jolt came Monday when Pandit, a Duquesne sophomore golfer, and his teammates were summoned to a meeting and informed that the university was cutting men's golf -- along with baseball, men's swimming and wrestling -- at the end of this school year.

"Just hit us all like a brick," he said. "I got cut from the team as a freshman and made it as a walk-on this year, so this was a really important part of my life. It was evidence that if you worked hard at something, you could achieve it."

Reality punched Pandit in the face again -- after he had a night to sleep on things. Tuesday afternoon, after the anger began to subside, after the resentment began to go away, he understood there was finality to all of this.

The move, classified as "an effort to maximize financial resources and ensure sustained athletic success," is going to eliminate his program and cut the number of varsity sports on the Bluff from 20 to 16 -- no matter how hard anyone resisted.

"They were frank about it, they were firm about all of this when they told us," said Pandit, a Hampton High School graduate. "You can join all the Facebook groups you want and write all the e-mails that you'd like, but the truth is that a decision has been made and these sports aren't coming back."

That much was hammered home Tuesday morning to the parents of the approximately 70 student-athletes directly impacted by the four sports that were cut.

Each family received an Express Mail envelope Tuesday morning from Duquesne assistant athletic director Rick Christensen informing them of the news their children had probably already told them: that the sports would be cut.

The father of a swimmer -- who spoke to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette under the condition that he remained anonymous for fear of reprisal against his son -- said he called the Duquesne athletic department Tuesday morning to speak with athletic director Greg Amodio. The father wanted more information about the cuts and how the money saved would be reallocated.

"When I called down there, I just wanted a few answers, I just wanted to talk to the athletic director to ask why, but, I was told by the person who answered the phone that he was traveling with the men's basketball team," the father said. "I was sort of taken aback by all of that. I was wondering why it was so important for him to be with the basketball team when all this was happening. I was also told he won't be available until Friday."

The men's basketball team is not scheduled to leave until today for its Thursday game at Xavier.

Dave Saba, associate athletic director for media relations, told the Post-Gazette Monday and Tuesday that Amodio would have no further comment beyond the news release issued early Monday evening.

In the release, Amodio said, "Focusing on and strengthening a core group of sports will maximize our ability to compete at the highest level, enhance the student athlete experience, and better utilize existing funding."

Duquesne men's basketball coach Ron Everhart held a media opportunity Tuesday afternoon in which he and players Melquan Bolding and Jason Duty were made available. Before the session began, Saba instructed the gathered media that questions should only be pointed toward the men's basketball team and the upcoming Xavier game.

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