The ISU athletic department will lose 17.7 percent of its funding for this fiscal year from the general university fund if budget cuts announced Monday by ISU President Gregory Geoffroy are approved by the Board of Regents.

An athletic department spokesman said it was unclear what form changes within Iowa State’s athletics programs might take.

The proposed cut of $560,000 is part of $8.3 million dollars of cuts that were itemized Monday in response to state funding cuts and a universitywide revenue shortfall.

The athletic department currently has a 2003—04 operating budget of $27,985,921, according to the ISU Budget. The $560,000 cut would require a 2.0 percent drop in expenditures by the department, if department revenues were unchanged.

“No question, these are deep cuts,” said Tom Kroeschell, associate athletics director for media relations. “[Athletics director] Bruce Van De Velde is working to examine the impact — and it will be a significant impact — on our athletic program.”

Kroeschell said Van De Velde and other athletics employees will develop a plan for dealing with the cuts, which if approved by the Board of Regents, would reduce the general ISU fund’s contribution to the athletic department from $3.2 million to $2.6 million.

“[The] first thing to do now is look at what it is you’re going to eliminate,” Kroeschell said. He said more specifics would come later.

Van De Velde is scheduled to meet Friday with Iowa State’s Athletics Council to begin developing those specifics, Kroeschell said.

Van De Velde is in his fourth year at Iowa State. In April 2001, only six months after taking the head ISU post, he was forced to announce the elimination of Iowa State’s men’s swimming and baseball programs. Those cuts came after the athletic department faced a $1.4 million dollar budget shortfall because of an earlier round of funding cuts by the Iowa Legislature.

— Daily staff reports contributed to this article.