GENEVA - After an outcry from current players, fans and former students, Hobart College's board of trustees has decided to change course and keep its men's lacrosse team as a Division I program, the western New York school announced Friday.

Last week, trustees for Hobart and William Smith Colleges announced they had voted to return the Hobart men's lacrosse program to the Division III level. The uproar was swift and loud.

Board Chairman David Deming said that passion was what swayed the board to reconsider.

The board held an emergency vote late Thursday night by telephone.

“We were reminded of the spirit and tradition that inspires us all,” Deming said. “The community's confidence emboldened us.”

College President Mark Gearan personally delivered the news to the lacrosse team. Deming told the college community of the decision Friday morning in a letter sent via e-mail.

Hobart won 16 Division III national championships in men's lacrosse before moving up to Division I in 1995. Since its move, the Statesmen are just 88-98 (.473) with four NCAA tournament appearances.

Because Hobart and William Smith compete at the Division III level in other sports, they are required to abide by Division III rules, which prohibit the school from giving out athletic scholarships. School officials said that put Hobart at a recruiting disadvantage against Division I schools and was a considerable factor in its reasons for wanting to drop down.

Hobart (8-5) ends its regular season Friday night against Cornell (10-3), in one of the oldest rivalries in college lacrosse, dating back to the mid-1890s.