SPORTS Dropping The Ball

In a portentous sign of the times, the University of Wisconsin and Yale announced recently that they would eliminate some of their athletic teams starting next year.

Yale, which must slash an $11 million athletic budget by $560,000, will retire the varsity men's water-polo and wrestling teams and the junior varsity men's hockey team. Disgruntled Eli captains said they had been targeted because of low attendance and Title IX regulations, which compel universities to offer equal athletic opportunities to men and women.

The University of Wisconsin, having run up a $1.9 million athletic department deficit, said it would cap funding for crew and purge the baseball, gymnastics and fencing teams. The main cause of the budget shortfall appears to be an erosion of football revenue, with average attendance dropping from 74,600 in 1984 to 51,027 last year. Other hard-strapped colleges and universities are expected to follow suit.