Courtesy of UMD.

The University of Maryland may have eight fewer athletic teams this year due to budget cuts, but it will still move ahead with building a new home for the university’s president.

According to the Post, the university is planning on spending $7.2 million to build a new 14,000-square-foot on-campus mansion to replace the current home used by President Wallace D. Loh to entertain potential donors. And while it seem like a crass decision when contrasted with last year’s decision to cut athletics to save some $29 million, the new home would serve a needed purpose, say university officials:

University leaders say the school has a dire need for the new facility, which is designed to woo supporters and attract major donations at a time when state funds make up less and less of the overall budget. They say the bill will be picked up by about 30 private donors — not students or taxpayers — and will pay huge dividends. It also will replace a building plagued with problems.

In a recent vote on demolishing the existing home, the only dissenting vote came from State Comproller Peter Franchot. He said that regardless of where the money comes from to build the new mansion — the old one dates back to 1956 — its construction at a time of slashed budget looks bad.

“The university is saving every penny it can, but a building that is perfectly habitable is being demolished. I don’t see how you respond to your constituents,” he was quoted as saying by the Maryland Reporter.