Athletic budget cut update #38

Washington State will reduce media guides, evaluate all travel squad sizes, require bus transportation for trips less than 400 miles, reduce professional as well as international recruiting travel, discontinue some internships and leave some vacant positions unfilled in order to close a $350,000 budget gap.

University of Wisconsin-Superior is suspending their women's golf team for two years until the athletic program's budget situation improves.

Florida and Florida State's marching bands will both reduce the number of away football games they attend due to non-athletic budget reductions.

ESPNU has an in-depth blog article about the cuts that were just made at Texas A&M, providing specific details about some of the individuals who lost their jobs, describing the debt issues that have contributed to the budget situation and commentary about a pay increase for the athletic director.

South Florida is trimming their budget to $32.3 million by eliminating printed media guides, reducing team travel and dropping administrative expenses by 20%.

The Arizona Daily Star has an interesting article about Arizona Athletic Director Jim Livengood and the challenges he faces to balance the budget every year.

St. Cloud (Division I Hockey) will cut printed media guides.

The Wisconsin Lacrosse baseball team may be cut unless $50,000 can be raised by September 1 to support its operations.

Politicsdaily.com posted an article reviewing many of the recent athletic budget cuts with an ultimatesportsinsider.com notation.

Inside Higher Education has a very interesting article that examines some of the hidden costs that are eating away at athletic budgets, especially at the small college level. Some Division III institutions are questioning playing rule changes in football and basketball that cost thousands of dollars to implement and will force the schools to choose between the possibility of hosting NCAA championship events or funding other aspects of their athletic department or campus operations.