*Four athletics programs eliminated
The elimination of four sports programs, a one-third reduction in scholarship dollars and reduced travel for the famed "Marching 100" is the price Florida A&M Interim Athletic Director E. Newton Jackson has opted to pay for a balanced athletic budget.
Jackson told the members of the FAMU board of trustees' Budget and Finance Committee on Wednesday that those moves in combination with several other cost-cutting measures will help the athletic department manage a proposed 2005-06 operating budget of approximately $6.7 million. Overall, Jackson has proposed a reduction of more than $2.5 million from the current year's budget.
Men's tennis, men's golf and men's and women's swimming and diving will be eliminated, reducing the school's total number of athletics programs to 14.
Newton said that move alone will save the athletic department $340,000, and an overall reduction of scholarship dollars could account for another $1million in cuts. Newton said that removing the band's travel expenses from the athletic department's budget would save more than $400,000.
The band traveled to seven road games in 2004, four of which were against Division I-A teams as part of the terms of the guaranteed contracts FAMU made with those schools. While the band is not expected to travel to as many away games this season, it is expected to perform at the Atlanta Classic and the Florida Classic.
"The band has other funding sources, so we don't expect this will cause any problems for our famous Marching 100," said university spokeswoman LaNedra Carroll. "They're contracted to go to all the classics. We certainly don't want anyone to be alarmed."
Newton's other cost-saving measures include a 10-percent cut in expenses that will be applied across the board for the remaining 14 sports.
He also has proposed a 52-percent reduction in support-staff (OPS) salaries, which could save $250,000. Those OPS cuts include the salaries of golf coach Marvin Green, men's tennis coach Carl Goodman and men's and women's swimming and diving coach Mark Howell. All three coaches were unavailable for comment Wednesday evening.
The school has proposed scholarship reductions as one of its self-imposed penalties because of NCAA rules violations, which includedimproper eligibility certification of student-athletes in nearly every sport. Jackson is expected to reveal the extent of those penalties at today's trustees' meeting. But some of the reduction in scholarship expenses, according to Jackson, will be the result of former student-athletes who were ruled academically ineligible at the end of the spring semester. Those scholarships will go unfilled.
"We cannot afford to have students on scholarship who have not met those criteria," said FAMU Interim President Castell Bryant, who pointed out that this policy applied to all students on scholarship, not just athletes. "This is an emotional issue, but we have to follow the guidelines and follow the rules."
Jackson would not say specifically how many student-athletes were affected by the decision, but he did say individual student-athletes could have the opportunity to regain their scholarships if they regain eligibility during the summer. In the past, money was allocated to pay for summer school for some student-athletes, but there was no money available for summer classes this year.
Committee members praised Jackson's efforts to reel in a budget that ballooned to more than $9.2 million this year as a result of the university's failed move to Division I-A in football.
According to Jackson, the athletic department not only could not cover the projected expenses, but also had overspent by nearly $1 million.
It was last reported that the athletic department would end this fiscal year with as much as a $3.5 million deficit. Jackson would not reconfirm that estimate Wednesday, although the issue is expected to be addressed at today's trustees' meeting.
Former Athletic Director Joseph Ramsey II tried to convince trustees in December to allow him to cut the budget by as much as 35 percent. Ramsey, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday, was not given permission by trustees to make those cuts.
The trustees aren't expected to oppose the latest proposed cuts. However, student body President Ramon Alexander doesn't want to see any sports eliminated.
Alexander questioned whether fund-raising could save those programs. Trustees Challis Lowe and Mary Diallo also expressed concerns about cutting the programs.
Bryant said the programs won't be able to continue unless the university can find a way to fund the programs long-term.
"(The deficit) has accumulated to be a big amount because it wasn't stopped earlier," Bryant said.
Posted By:
Thursday, June 30th 2005 at 11:01AM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
