As the impact of the cuts deepens, some athletes refuse to accept the decision quietly. 

This episode follows swimmer Sage Ohlensehlen and the attorneys behind the Title IX lawsuit that challenged Iowa’s decision, while also tracing Kareem Allaf’s role in the effort to save men’s tennis. As the fight unfolds — in courtrooms and beyond — athletes begin to push back against an institution that has already moved on. 

Producer: Claire O'Donnell

Assoc. Producers: Lily Kopp, Kellen Rife

Host: Brendan Schnoebelen

Editor: John Murphy

Discontinued: The Decision That Changed Iowa Athletics

As the pandemic shut down college athletics in 2020, the University of Iowa decided to cut four varsity sports programs, irrevocably changing the lives of dozens of student-athletes. For athletes at any level, their sport is not just what they do — it’s who they are. For college athletes, that connection is inseparable from school pride.

Through interviews with athletes, coaches, attorneys, and journalists, Discontinued explores the fallout of the cuts, from the Title IX lawsuit that challenged it to the lasting questions about belonging and who universities consider expendable. What happens to someone’s sense of self when the sport they’ve committed to since childhood is suddenly taken away?