L.A. City and Southwest L.A. Colleges Tentatively Lose Their Athletic Programs

The athletic programs at L.A. City College and Southwest L.A. College were tentatively eliminated Monday at a meeting of Southern California Conference officials when neither school could guarantee which teams it would sponsor for the 1986-87 season, conference President Joe Iantorno said.

In all, 33 men’s and women’s teams in 9 sports were eliminated at 8 schools in the Los Angeles Community College District. Pierce College in Woodland Hills, the ninth school and a member of the Western State Conference, eliminated its football and men’s basketball programs last month.

The conference extended a 24-hour grace period, which expires at 4:30 today, for the L.A. colleges to add men’s and women’s basketball programs. At Monday’s meeting, five of 11 teams fielded this season were unable to commit for the 1986-87 season.

In addition, the deadline to add spring sports was extended to Sept. 22. Monday’s schedule eliminated 23 of 35 spring teams fielded this season by L.A. schools.

The conference deadline, originally set for June 1, had been extended twice for the L.A. schools to report which programs they would field next season, Iantorno said.

The inability of L.A. schools to determine their athletic programs is a side effect of faculty layoffs in the district, Trade Tech Athletic Director Courtney Borio said. Five full-time instructors who coach will be among 42 teachers laid off June 30. Twenty-three part-time coaches also will be fired in accordance with the faculty union contract.

L.A. City and Southwest L.A. will lose 11 intercollegiate athletic teams unless they add spring sports by the September deadline.

According to the final schedules adopted Monday for fall sports, the only two football programs in the district will be at Harbor and Valley colleges. The district fielded six teams last season.