Sonoma State Univ. coaches file complaint on behalf of students as school cuts athletics program

ROHNERT PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- Students and coaches are vowing to fight back after Sonoma State University makes a bombshell announcement of cutting the entire athletics program.

Along with its athletics program, Sonoma State University is also getting rid of several academic departments and majors, in addition to laying off dozens of faculty members.

It's all to address the school's nearly $24 million budget deficit for the upcoming school year.

But it has a lot of students and staff feeling blindsided, and they said they're preparing to fight back.

It's a pep talk Sonoma State coaches never thought they'd have to give on a Saturday afternoon nor did they think they'd be preparing to file a lawsuit against the university. But, that's exactly what they're doing in wake of the school's announcement Wednesday it's shuttering its athletic department.

There's been a complaint filed with the Office of Civil Rights, said Marcus Ziemer, Men's Soccer head coach.

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Coaches filed the complaint on behalf of minority athletes, calling for an investigation into the school's decision, which they say unfairly targets minority students.

The athletic department is the most diverse group on campus.

Way more than the campus at large," said Ziemer. "So this decision harms minority students and a much bigger impact than it does on the the rest of the students on campus."

Like many coaches at Sonoma State, Ziemer's Seawolves roots run decades deep.

First as a student-athlete and then coach, just like school hall of famer and women's head soccer coach, Emiria Salzmann.

"On one hand, we're trying to get them somewhere else, but on the other hand we're asking them to fight and that's a lot to put on them," said Ziemer.

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"It takes commitment from our family and our friends to get us the opportunity to go to college, and to have that take from athletes and non-athletes alike, it just breaks my heart because I know probably a good amount of those students are not going to be able to go to college again somewhere else," said Joseph Sotelo, a golfer and third-year student.

What is heartbreaking is how these coaches are describing it, too.

"When we recruit players, we look at them in their eyes, we talk and meet their families...and look at them. And we promise their families that we're going to take care of them. And now the university of stripping us of that, so I have to go back on my word and that hurts more than anything else," said Valentine Verhunce, Men's and Women's Golf Head Coach.

And while there is a lot of hurt, there's also a lot of heart.

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Taylor Hodges, a sophomore and plays women's soccer said, "As athletes and coaches, we're taught to fight. Like, my team goes by a quote to play-til-the-last-minute and that's what we're going to do. I mean, we're not going to go down without a fight."

We reached out to the university for a response to the filing on Saturday, and received an email writing, "The university is aware of the complaint, and it is being reviewed."

And certainly, conversations between coaches and players will continue. This group is not giving up.

"My goal is to be able to come back here in a couple of years and still have a legacy left. And for these coaches to still have a place to call home and to come to work every day," Hodges said.