After backing out of a similar change in 2004, the Hartwick College board of trustees is again considering moving the school's men's soccer program from Division I to Division III, according to a report in the Oneonta Daily Star.

The board, which meets Saturday, Feb. 9, received a memo Monday from Hartwick president Richard Miller stating, in part: "The scholarship and program costs to maintain competitive Division I programs can now be reallocated to a range of investments benefiting our entire student body and campus. The culture of Division I athletics is inconsistent with our mission today, whereas this was not the case 25 years ago."

Hartwick also grants scholarships in one women's sport: water polo. The change would take effect in the fall of 2009, though no scholarships would be awarded in the 2008 season. The Hawks would join the rest of their programs in the Empire 8. The annual savings would be $550,000, according to Miller.

The programs' Division I status was saved in 2004 by a fundraising effort of alumni and supporters. The organization had committed to raising $2 million by June 2008 but is $500,000 short of that goal.

Hartwick, which won the 1977 national title, went 5-6-7 this past season.