Today, Fresno State University is holding a press conference to announce a decision to cut four sports programs from its Div. I athletic department. The nationally ranked Bulldog wrestling team is not one of them.    According to reports in the Fresno Bee, the sports to get the axe will be men's soccer, men's cross country, men's indoor track and women's swimming. The Bee indicated that the cuts would "eliminate six coaches, about 100 athletes and, ultimately, 26 scholarships." Women's golf will be started at Fresno State, reportedly as early as next year.    Dennis DeLiddo, who has coached the Fresno State wrestlers for 22 years, did not know for sure that his program had survived the purge until athletic director Scott Johnson gave him the news yesterday.    "I never knew for sure," said DeLiddo. "You live off the rumors. They had committees looking at it. I just kept plugging away. I didn't know until yesterday at 11:30 a.m. I think I hugged the AD when he told me. I think Scott Johnson is my hero right now."    It didn't matter that Fresno State wrestling had placed in the top 25 in the nation eight times during DeLiddo's term, or that it boasted three-time NCAA champion Stephen Abas, or that it was a strong eighth in the 1993 NCAA Championships. Something had to go. Wrestling was on the chopping block, just like the other sports.    "We have an athletic director with vision," said DeLiddo. "He values the sport and the exposure that our team has given the university nationally."    DeLiddo also felt that his tenure at the university, the fact that he hails from Fresno and the strong local wrestling community may have played a factor in wrestling surviving the purge.    "I was born and raised in Fresno and have a lot of friends here. We have a lot of local support," said DeLiddo. "The community is gung-ho for wrestling. Maybe, they wanted to serve the community."    DeLiddo credits his team's aggressive national schedule, and the support he has received from other schools travelling to Fresno, as a factor in the decision to keep wrestling.    "They like that we wrestle Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Illinois and other powers," said DeLiddo. "It was huge for us when Iowa came to town. It was one of the things that saved us from being dropped. We wrestle with the big boys and we are in the mix. They really like that."    According to the Fresno Bee, the cutbacks will save the university about $600,000 on its athletic budget. The school has been dealing with past athletic department deficits, as well as with reductions in state support.  But whenever you hear the word budget, another question comes to mind. What about Title IX?     Men's teams to be cut in the past included swimming and water polo. The women's athletic department today has 327 female athletes funded by a $4.3 million budget. According to the Fresno Bee, although in the past the school lagged in its women's offerings, the Fresno State athletic department recently was considered in compliance with the federal law. But, what happens when you add in financial problems?    "We knew if they dropped women's swimming, then it would be two men's sports gone," said DeLiddo. "It ended up being three."    The concept of dropping sports is against everything DeLiddo stands for. It is hard for any coach to feel good when his peer coaches lose a program, or when numerous young athletes no longer have a team. "I feel terrible for the other sports," he said.    The Fresno State wrestling community had been prepared to go to battle if wrestling was chosen as one of the unlucky victims.    "When I had my recent budget meetings, I was prepared," said DeLiddo. "I've had a committee for a long time to be ready to fight if we were dropped. Luckily, we did not have to have that fight. In fact, we fought for it before it was dropped."    DeLiddo is excited about the future, and showing the leaders at Fresno State that they made the right decision about wrestling. Although the team draws well with its dual meets, DeLiddo feels that it can still do a better job. He also feels that it is time for him to lead a dedicated effort to rally the wrestling community and give the Bulldog wrestling team more long-term stability.    "By the time I leave here, I would like to have an endowment fund," said DeLiddo. "That is every wrestling coach's dream."    California, which has the most high school wrestlers and the largest USA Wrestling state association in the nation, will continue to have one of its few remaining Div. I programs available to its top athletes.    "This was a big, big save for wrestling," said DeLiddo. "It is a very nice day here for us."    Click here for official Fresno State press release on the dropped teams