IU Athletics announced Friday a series of budget cuts in response to the postponement of the 2020 fall sports season. The university has not participated in a sporting event since March, which has significantly affected staff work responsibilities, according to the release.
Starting Oct. 1, all department staff members will be subject to at least one two-week unpaid furlough from Oct. 1to June 30, 2021. Other staff members who’ve been largely affected by the absence of sporting events will see their work hours reduced to every other week, or in full.
IU Athletics implemented a department-wide 10% pay cut this summer that is expected to save nearly $11.8 million, according to the release.
Other measures include a freeze in discretionary bonuses, hires, training trips and nonessential facility maintenance and construction. Additionally, IU football head coach Tom Allen, IU basketball head coach Archie Miller and IU athletic director Scott Dolson have agreed to voluntary 10% pay cuts for the 2020-21 academic year.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, IU Athletics has not participated in an intercollegiate athletic event in five and a half months, which necessitated tough decisions regarding our staff,” Dolson said in a release. “Throughout this process, we have prioritized our staff, and the decision to ask everyone to share the burden was made to minimize the number of employees who would be impacted to a much more significant degree.”
IU Athletics is continuing to look into further financial mitigation measures, according to the release.
