Fresno State furloughs about 60 athletics employees amid COVID-19 budget crunch

The Fresno State athletics department furloughed its part-time and stipend employees on Friday, and could be staring at more cost-cutting measures necessitated by a sharp decline in revenues due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“As a result of the significant financial impacts of COVID-19 and the university’s transition to virtual instruction this spring, the Athletic Corporation had to make a difficult decision to furlough approximately 60 part-time auxiliary employees for two months,” the university said in a statement.

“The university has a number of recognized auxiliary organizations that are 501(c)(3) non-profit public benefit organizations and, as such, they are considered private employers. Other auxiliary organizations in the California State University system have had to make similar decisions given the reduction of campus operating revenues.”

The furloughed employees work in several areas, both in sports operations and administration in a no-frills athletics department that struggles to support its 21 sports programs.

“This is a difficult day, and we don’t make statements in regard to personnel actions, but what we do say is we understand the impact of COVID-19 and what it has done to us,” athletics director Terry Tumey said. “Difficult decisions are being made in order to try to address the shortfalls that we have financially and also to maintain some semblance of our offering when things do turn and come to a point it will be better for us.

“We’re making some decisions now that hopefully ensure that things will be better and more stable in the future.”

Fall sports task force report

A Fall 2020 Planning Task Force on Friday was to submit a plan to university president Dr. Joseph I. Castro for reopening the campus to that end.

A decision when and how Fresno State will reopen its campus is expected sometime in the first part of June, though a number of Division I schools across the country and in the Mountain West Conference have already announced when they will bring students back on campus.

Wyoming was among the first, targeting June 1 shortly after the NCAA cleared the way for student-athletes in football and men’s and women’s basketball to participate in voluntary on-campus workouts on that date.

The NCAA on Friday expanded that to all sports, noting that schools are expected to make decisions based on the health, safety and well-being of their student-athletes and in compliance with local, state and federal regulations.

Sports cut across nation

Tumey declined to comment on future cost-cutting measures under consideration, but other Division I athletics departments dealing with revenue shortfalls have had coaches and highly-paid administrators take pay cuts or furloughs.

Several athletics departments from Group of Five conferences have eliminated sports programs.

East Carolina on Thursday dropped men’s and women’s swimming and men’s and women’s tennis, cutting its offering to 16 sports from 20. Akron eliminated three sports to get to 17; Furman dropped two sports; Wisconsin-Green Bay dropped two sports; Bowling Green, Old Dominion, Cincinnati have each dropped a program.

Among public schools in the Mountain West, San Diego State and Colorado State generate more athletics revenue than the Bulldogs and support fewer sports programs; the Aztecs have 19, the Rams 16.

Boise State has 20 sports teams and UNLV, with roughly the same athletics department revenue as Fresno State, has 16 programs to the Bulldogs’ 21.

More cuts at Fresno State?

Castro has been opposed to cutting sports, but left open that door last month when asked if his position had shifted given the financial hit the university and its athletics department are taking during the pandemic.

“The pandemic has already affected the university and auxiliary organization budgets,” Castro said in an April 21 statement, responding to questions from The Fresno Bee on the possibility of cutting sports programs and pay cuts for university and athletics administrators and coaches.

“Like other universities across the nation, we have experienced a significant loss of revenue in areas such as dining, housing, parking, athletics, Save Mart Center and other auxiliary operations. In addition, the state of California has delayed its assessment of tax receipts, which will delay the final 2020-21 state budget allocation to the California State University until early fall. The Governor’s May revision to the proposed 2020-21 state budget will guide our budget planning for next fiscal year.

“We have already imposed a pause on virtually all new hiring and ceased all business travel and event expenses for the foreseeable future. Other options for reducing costs will be considered in the coming weeks and months.”

Tumey also has told Fresno State coaches that there will be cuts to their operating budgets, with the distribution from the NCAA coming in roughly $1.3 million less than anticipated due to the cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournament in March.

This story was originally published May 22, 2020 at 4:51 PM.