Wisconsin Soccer Central

The group of UW-Oshkosh men's soccer alumni trying to save the highly successful program is hoping to use Saturday's alumni game as a springboard for its efforts.

The match kicks off at 6:30 p.m. at Titan Stadium, with a pre-game social for alumni and parents at 5 p.m. and a post-match social including players set for 8:30 p.m.

"The landscape of opportunity for soccer in the Fox Valley and northeastern Wisconsin would be very different had it not been for the influence of UW-Oshkosh men's soccer and the contributions of (former coach) Toby Bares as an ambassador for the sport of soccer and youth in our community," the Save UWO Soccer group writes in a letter encouraging people to support the cause by attending Saturday's game.

"Our alumni event is two-fold, in that we want to help grow awareness of how the community can support the initiative to Save UWO Soccer and at the same time display to the administration what impact UW-Oshkosh men's soccer has on our kids, schools, clubs and adults from the competitive to the recreational level."

UW-Oshkosh officials announced earlier this month that it will eliminate the men's soccer and men's tennis programs and re-organize its track and field and cross country programs after the 2015-16 school year in response to expected budget cuts from the state. (Read original article)

The Titans are one of the top NCAA Division III men's soccer programs in the nation, with a 412-118-52 all-time record and 13 NCAA tournament appearances. They've had 30 straight winning seasons since going 6-7-0 in 1984 in their inaugural season, the eighth-longest such streak in Division III soccer history, and have done so primarily with Wisconsin athletes – 19 of the 26 players on their roster last fall were state natives.

The Save UWO Soccer group has formed three committees – one for public relations/marketing, another for fundraising and the other for legal matters – as they attempt to get the decision to cut men's soccer reversed. UW-Oshkosh Chancellor Andrew Leavitt has said in several interviews that the decision is "final."

The group's website, Save UWO Soccer, lays out its argument for why the program should be kept and encourages visitors to sign an online petition.