SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Missouri State University is withdrawing as host of this year's Missouri Valley Conference men and women's track and field championships. The championships will instead be held at Wichita State University. Missouri State officials say it would cost about $600,000 for upgrades areas needed for the championships. Wednesday's announcement comes a day after Missouri State said it had formed a group to find ways to reduce its athletic department's expenses. The Springfield News-Leader reports the university's goal is to reduce expenses in the athletic department by at least $750,000. Last year, the department's budget was $16.1 million. The move is in response to Governor Eric Greitens’ 2018 budget proposal, which would provide about $90 million less in core funding to Missouri's public colleges and universities than they were expecting.
