The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Fighting Illini men's fencing team was established in 1911. They won two National Championships in 1956 and in 1958. On October 12th, 1989, the Chicago Tribune reported that three members of the team had burned a part of the AstroTurf on the Memorial Stadium field. They were later arrested for the crime. In 1993, the varsity team was dropped as well as the men's swimming and the men's and women's diving team due to budget cuts and a few other reasons, including Title IX, which was starting to take real effect on school athletics.