More than 50 students donned fluorescent yellow T-shirts at Duquesne University's basketball game yesterday, rallying against the college's recent decision to eliminate four men's athletic teams.

"An athlete is a terrible thing to waste," the shirts read: "$1,000,000 reallocated/0 questions answered/4 teams cut/Heartless."

When asked for a comment from the athletic department, Dave Saba, associate athletic director for media relations, sent the following e-mail to the Post-Gazette: "We respect the right of students to express their opinion in light of this very difficult decision."

Duquesne announced in a news release last Monday that the men's baseball, swimming, golf and wrestling teams would be cut at the end of this semester "to maximize financial resources and ensure sustained athletic success."

Athletic director Greg Amodio told the Post-Gazette Thursday that the move was "a strategic reallocation of dollars" to its football team and women's athletic scholarships, among other things.

About 70 of the 475 students in the school's athletic program will be affected.

"I don't know what to do next," said Matt Wollenschlaegher, 20, of Ocala, Fla., a junior on the swim team. "I'm pretty well stuck here. I have too many credits to transfer."

Duquesne will honor the athletic scholarships of students who choose to stay. But freshman Hunter Chiasson, 18, of Duxbury, Mass., said he will probably move to a school where he can continue to swim. "I can't really imagine a college experience without it," he said.

The members of the men's and women's swim teams, which students said functioned as one team, were notified at an emergency meeting. Erin Sykes, 20, of North Carolina, a junior on the women's team, said their coaches were in tears.

She said there are 22 men and 23 women on the swim teams; they train, travel and compete together.

"I cried," said Katy Hare, 19, of Cincinnati, a sophomore on the women's team. "They're like my family."

The women said that without the men's team, they would have to compete against fewer schools and would have difficulty with recruitment.

They banded together this week to try to reverse the decision. The wrestling team ordered the T-shirts, and with the help of both swim teams, they sold about 100 at yesterday's basketball game, during which Duquesne narrowly defeated Saint Joseph's.

The swim team members were wary of criticizing Duquesne.

"We're not here to protest today," said Tony Herzog, 22, of Lima, Ohio, an alumnus and a former member of the swim team. "We're here to support the men's team."

But they did write a letter to the president of the university asking him to reconsider, and they passed out pamphlets during the game, until they were asked to stop.

The swim team is scheduled to compete in their last championship this month.

Yurko Honchar, of Carnegie, a 20-year-old junior on the team, rattled off a list of ideas to save the program, suggesting that the members could become more visible on campus, volunteer in the community, and travel less expensively. He would do anything, he said, to swim next year.

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