As UTSA athletic director Lisa Campos clicks through Zoom call after Zoom call, the same question keeps coming up.
Whether she’s meeting with the NCAA Division I council or athletic directors from Conference USA, the Group of Five, the Power Five or the FCS, everyone wants to know: “Who has the Magic 8-Ball?”
The economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic are impacting athletic programs around the nation, but quantifying the scope of the damage is difficult. Revenue projections are clouded by uncertainty surrounding conference and NCAA distributions, student fees, external contributions and the viability of the 2020 football season.
On April 30, UTSA President Taylor Eighmy asked faculty and staff to prepare for a budget reduction of 10 percent to 15 percent for fiscal 2021. In the athletics department, Campos has eliminated all nonessential spending and implemented a hiring freeze while mulling additional measures.
“We can’t just sit around and wait for all of the answers,” Campos said. “All of us are in the same boat, continuing to plan for the future, even though we may not know what that future looks like.”
Per Eighmy’s letter, UTSA’s vice presidents — including Campos, whose formal title is vice president for intercollegiate athletics — are contributing 10 percent of their salaries to the Roadrunner Staff Emergency Fund, which helps staff members facing financial hardship as a result of the downturn.
No athletics coaches or staff have taken salary cuts or furloughs, Campos said, though doing so may become necessary down the line.
“We’re still working through those scenarios,” Campos said. “... Everything is going to be on the table. It’s something we definitely have to consider.”
Campos said “low-hanging fruit areas” were immediately targeted for cost cutting, including eliminating administrative job openings that don’t directly impact student-athletes.
Summer financial aid is being limited to students who need the classes to graduate or remain eligible, Campos said.
UTSA’s student-athlete handbook notes that summer financial aid is “a privilege and not a right.” Recipients each year are decided through an application process.
“We took the approach of looking at who from an academic standpoint needs to graduate on time,” Campos said. “Who can graduate this summer? Who may need a class for eligibility purposes? Those were really our priority students.”
Leaving the door open to every possibility, Campos said UTSA’s teams or student-athletes may see reductions in scholarships. One option is to decrease payments for portions of scholarships that are not mandated under NCAA rules — items such as academic-related supplies and transportation that UTSA would typically offer as part of the full cost of attendance.
“There are always going to have to be tough decisions that will have to be made, and we’re going to put everything on the table,” Campos said. “But our guiding principle is trying to put the student-athlete first and minimizing any impact that they may have.”
Another challenge is projecting what scholarship funding might be available for senior student-athletes in spring sports who were granted an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA Division I council.
The NCAA’s decision gave athletic programs the option to offer returning seniors less than their normal scholarship allotment or to withhold financial aid entirely. The lack of clarity on available funding complicates the decision process for seniors who may be weighing jobs or graduate school.
“We’re still working through all of that to see how we can perhaps help those who want to come back,” Campos said.
Campos said the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence facility project is the program’s “bright light,” as the construction process has not been deterred by the pandemic.
Much of the groundwork has been completed since construction began March 7, and Campos said the dirt “footprints” of the football practice field and athletic hub are in place.
“We’re continuing to forge forward with that,” Campos said.
The project’s funding model calls for payments of $1 million per year for 25 years from the athletic department’s budget — a contribution Campos called an “obligation” that UTSA has not thought about adjusting.
UTSA is also stuck with the cost of firing football coach Frank Wilson, who’s owed $1.15 million for the 2020 season and $1.175 million for 2021. Those payments will be reduced by his earnings in his new role as head coach at McNeese State.
UTSA athletics also paid out an extra $200,000 this year under the terms of an amended contract for the football program’s games against Army.
The original agreement called for the teams to meet for two home games and two road games between 2019 and 2023. The home team was to pay a $200,000 guarantee to the road team each year, and the contract included a $200,000 buyout clause for either team canceling the agreement or failing to appear.
Because of a scheduling conflict, UTSA restructured the contract. The 2020 game at Army was canceled, and UTSA’s guaranteed payment to Army last season was doubled to $400,000 — an increase equal to the cost of the buyout.
Football is a significant driver of revenue to help offset those costs, but the fate of the 2020 season remains in the balance. Camos said she “would love to preserve the football season as it is scheduled,” but she and athletic directors around the country are meeting regularly to address all the potential barriers.
Among the factors being weighed are the health and safety of student-athletes, travel precautions that could lead to more regional scheduling, the possibility of government regulations varying between states, and the chance that distancing regulations may put a cap on attendance.
“No one has the answer right now,” Campos said.
greg.luca@express-news.net
Twitter: @GregLuca
"impact" - Google News
May 10, 2020 at 08:18AM
https://ift.tt/2WlN8ZD
UTSA athletics bracing for financial impact of coronavirus pandemic - San Antonio Express-News
"impact" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2RIFll8
https://ift.tt/3fk35XJ
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "UTSA athletics bracing for financial impact of coronavirus pandemic - San Antonio Express-News"
Post a Comment