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The Coronavirus’ Lasting Impact On The NCAA

The coronavirus has caused many financial issues for college athletics across the country. It seems that every day there is another four-year university that is cutting teams in their athletic program.

The Associated Press has determined through research that 97 total teams have been cut because of the impact of COVID-19. No power five schools have lost any sports yet, but they have had budget cuts.

“College presidents are just not thinking this through,” former University of Idaho president Chuck Staben said. “I cannot believe they are making all these probably bad financial decisions for their university when what we need them to do in the face of this pandemic and pending budget cuts from tuition shortfalls and state funding shortfalls is to make good financial decisions that benefit students.”

Missouri

One Power 5 school that has announced its budget cuts is the University of Missouri. The athletic department will be cutting $5 million in spending through layoffs and salary reductions.

The salary reductions will affect all of those in the department that make over $60,000 a year. Those that make between $60,000 and $100,000 will see their salary drop 7.5 percent between July 1 and Sept. 30. Those that make over $100,000 will see a 10 percent cut during that time.

“We think maybe there’ll be a 20% downturn in tickets (sales) and donations,” athletic director Jim Sterk said. “So what does that mean to our budget? We need to make adjustments to our budget, but we’re still a ways away from that. But I would say all those (human resource) tools we’ll need to utilize.”

Some sources have said they have already laid off several high-ranking members of the athletic department.

Appalachian State

Appalachian State University has cut three men’s athletic programs due to the coronavirus. They immediately cut indoor track and field, soccer, and tennis.

“This is a very difficult day for the entire App Family,” athletic director Doug Gillin said. “Our mission is to guide and support our student-athletes in their quest for excellence academically, athletically, and socially. After careful and thoughtful review, we determined that we could no longer sustain 20 program offerings in a fiscally responsible manner.”

However, they will be honoring the scholarships to the student-athletes in these programs, and those in high school that have already received offers. Appalachian State plans to support those athletes who wish to transfer to another university.

Potential Impact

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby discussed the worry that schools will begin to cut Olympic sports. Colleges play a big role in developing Olympic athletes that go on to compete for their respective countries.

“There are only 17 men’s gymnastics programs in the country,” Bowlsby said. “If those go away, our Olympic efforts in men’s gymnastics will be devastated.”

Many smaller schools also drive up their enrollment because of the number of athletic teams they have. This could have a lasting impact on how many students some of these schools bring in.

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