On Wednesday, March 29, 2017, the University of North Dakota Women's Hockey team stepped off the ice after practice not knowing it would be for the last time. While they were all still on the ice, news broke out on the internet about the recent budget cuts from the university; the women's hockey team got cut from the budget. To make matters worse, the team even had a recruiter from Massachusetts on campus.

Along with women's hockey, the men's and women's swim and drive programs are also going to be cut after the 2016-2017 season. According to U.S. College Hockey Online, the scholarships for the members of the teams that have been discontinued will continue to be honored. It is unclear yet if the players will decide to stay at the University of North Dakota or will choose to play at a college elsewhere. Either way, so much talent was lost with this budget cut.

The WCHA Women's League Commissioner Katie Million released a statement in response to the announcement saying, "Today’s developments are excruciatingly sad for the University of North Dakota, the WCHA and the sport of women’s hockey. While we understand the significant, state-mandated budget cuts faced by the entire University and respect the decision-making process of the UND administration, there is no denying the impact of losing a program that has produced Olympians, advanced to NCAA tournaments and is a perennial fixture in the national rankings."

The program recently had eight women play in the 2014 Sochi Olympics for three different countries. In addition, UND helps to produce some of the best players in the nation each year. Overall, they have produced twelve Olympians. Million continued, "Our collective hearts ache for North Dakota’s current and incoming student-athletes, for the school’s alumnae and fans, for head coach Brian Idalski and his entire staff, and all involved with the program." The players, on the other hand, have been posting on social media about how much the team meant to them and how honored they were to be able to play for such an outstanding program.

The team getting discontinued was apparently part of a $3 million athletic budget cut with $1.9 million coming from the women's team and $900,000 coming from swim and dive. These are not the first programs to get cut recently. Last year, UND baseball and men's golf were also cut in order to help adjust the school's budget. Men's golf was eventually brought back soon after due to a quick increase in the sport's fundraising efforts.