The University of Northern Iowa has a bigger problem than dropping its varsity baseball program. It’s called credibility, and the school just lost it.

Top officials said one thing, then did another. Troy Dannen, UNI’s director of athletics, said he wouldn’t cut any sports to solve budget problems, then did just that when he announced last week that baseball would be dropped after the 2009 season if the team doesn't raise $1.2 million by April 5. Tom Schellhardt, the vice president who oversees the athletic department, assured Coach Rick Heller his program would not be cut, and then it was.

Last week, when the story broke that UNI was dropping baseball, a reporter called UNI President Ben Allen’s office for comment. Allen was not available, but shortly later another of the school’s vice presidents – Jim O’Connor – returned the call on Allen’s behalf and flatly denied that any decisions had been made to drop the sport. As it turned out, that wasn’t true. To be fair, O'Connor acknolwedged he might have been out of the loop.

If you care about the University of Northern Iowa, who do you believe? Who do you trust?

Do you trust Dannen? Schellhardt? O’Connor? Allen? All of the above? None of the above? Pick your poison.

Yes, the economic times have changed. They've changed dramatically, and for the worse. But does that excuse breaking your word?

Things would have been different if Rick Hartzell were still the athletic director at Northern Iowa. Not that Hartzell could have saved the program, perhaps, but he wouldn’t have done their dirty work. Hartzell would have quit before being forced to cut a sport, whether it was baseball or anything else. He would have told Schellhardt and Allen to get themselves another boy, because he wasn't going to be their hatchet man. He would have packed his bags and left.

Hartzell was ahead of the curve. He quit in January of 2008, unhappy with having to report to Schellhardt instead of directly to Allen, and unhappy that he didn’t control his own facilities and ticket office. He left with his integrity, good name and a clear conscience.

What do you suppose UNI’s top coaches are thinking these days? How much confidence do they have in the athletic department? Who do they trust? Who do they believe?

The University of Northern Iowa has one of the top sports programs in the Missouri Valley Conference. The football team won the Missouri Valley title last fall and reached the semifinals of the FCS playoffs. The men’s basketball team just won the first regular-season Missouri Valley title in school history. The men’s track team captured another Missouri Valley Conference indoor title last weekend. But now what?

If you’re Mark Farley, the popular and successful football coach, do you stick around and wait for the school to slash your budget? Or do you pursue another job the next time something attractive comes along?

How about Ben Jacobson, who just led the Panthers to the basketball title? He could be a hot commodity if the Panthers make the NCAA tournament or have a good run in the NIT, but maybe he should look around and see what else is available.

The same goes for Travis Geopfert, the dynamic track coach who succeeded Chris Bucknam last year and kept the beat going after Bucky left to become the head coach at Arkansas. Maybe Geopfert should be on the prowl, too.

Maybe none of that will happen. Maybe dropping the baseball program will save enough money to protect the football, basketball and track teams from hard times. But maybe not.

Who do you trust? Who do you believe?

It’s a big problem at the University of Northern Iowa, and it’s not going away.

Meanwhile, thecampaign to save the program had raised $197,710 in pledges as of Thursday morning. Go to www.SupportUNIBaseball.com and pledge your support. You'll feel better when you do.