There has been a lot of focus on athletics, but lets remember our friends in academia.
(To preface this: I recall the words of my advisor who was at UND for nearly 40 years until his passing last fall: No department wants to make cuts to their budget because they feel they are the most important department on campus).
If I was a department head/dean on campus, whose budgets have been slashed, professors lost, programs eliminated, etc. Imagine my reaction to find out that the athletic department would bring back a sport that lost a large amount of money.
Hey, why should athletics get to bring back something while I get nothing? I am not going to put up with that, if they can get something, I can get something.*
Now imagine that reaction by several of these important people, especially ones that make things not so rosy on campus. Remember the outcry from the faculty when Schafer cut Baseball and they were mad because they weren't included? It would be way worse.
You cannot reopen the door.
Its why no matter how much is begged, these programs aren't coming back.
*I wouldn't blame any faculty member for being that way tbh and honestly I would expect a lot to react that same way.