Athletic budget cut update #40

Here is the latest athletic budget news from around the country:

Southern Mississippi athletics is losing $100,000 in state funding from its budget. In addition, they will face a reduction of 10-12% in their operating budget as new facilities become operational and the cost to run them is added into an essentially flat budget. Part of the solution will be to leave vacant positions unfilled. Other decisions include mandating that all non-revenue producing teams travel by bus unless they can fund raise the money for airfare, and reducing the number of printed media guides until national legislation passes that eliminates their use.

Auburn is reducing its athletic spending by scheduling contests closer to home, using bus travel for contests that are five hours or less from campus, and limiting professional travel.

Western Washington's decision to cut football received in depth coverage this week by FoxSports.com.

An in depth article about Louisiana Monroe Athletic Director Bobby Staub's budget saving approach mentions that they will be eliminating media guides in the coming season by putting all of the information on-line and also using bus travel for any trips that are less than 500 miles.

Also on the media guide front, the US Basketball Writers Association and Football Writers Association is working with the Southeastern Conference to preserve media guides in both of their sports, but don't want the materials to be used for recruiting. TigerBlog, the official blog of Princeton Athletics, took a decidedly different point of view on the issue of having media guides available for any purpose at all.

ESPN is taking aim at hometown sports coverage with the announcement that it will now begin offering "hyperlocal" sports coverage.