The Kansas Athletic department has implemented pay cuts and furloughs to all employees as a response to anticipated financial difficulties presented by the coronavirus pandemic.
KU athletic director Jeff Long announced the move in an email to donors Wednesday.
The pay changes come in four tiers:
-— Those making under $50,000 will be required to furlough for three whole weeks between June 1 and July 25
— Those making between $50,000 and $149,000 will have two options: take a pay reduction (3.5% for those making between $50,000 and $99,000; 5% between $100,000 and $149,000) or take a furlough of up to 10 days between June 1 and July 25
— Those making between $150,000 and $299,000 will have two options: take a pay reduction (7.5% for those making between $150,000 and $199,000; 10% between $200,000 and $299,000) or take a furlough of up to 10 days between June 1 and July 25
—Those making above $300,000 will take a 10% pay cut.
The timeline presented with KU’s furlough options seems to be intentional. Those employees taking furloughs would appear to be eligible for unemployment benefits, which includes an extra $600 per week funded by the government as part of the national stimulus package that expires at the end of July. The Kansas Department of Labor website says those who qualify for unemployment receive an additional $122 and $488 per week, depending on salary.
The Star confirmed through sources that Long first made the pay reduction announcement to his staff in a meeting last Monday.
KU started making cost-cutting moves last month. On April 27, men’s basketball coach Bill Self, football coach Les Miles and Long all reported they would be taking voluntary 10% pay decreases that would begin May 1 and continue for six months.
Long said in his email Wednesday that the new measure would save KU Athletics an estimated $650,000 through the end of the year. Combined with April’s pay cuts, the department anticipates a savings of approximately $1.15 million in 2020.
Long also reported that each of KU’s coaches under contract had volunteered to take the reported pay reductions, saying “they deserve a great amount of credit for contributing.”
KU isn’t the only local school to implement recent cuts. In late April, K-State coaches Bruce Weber and Chris Klieman agreed to 13% pay cuts for the upcoming fiscal year, while K-State also reduced salaries by 10% for any employees making more than $150,000 per year and 5% for those making between $100,000 and $150,000.
In his email, Long said KU was already expecting a 10% to 20% budget shortfall from lack of revenue, “even if football and men’s basketball seasons are played without interruption.”
“While these decisions are difficult, we prolonged enacting measures that impact our people as long as we could,” Long said in the email. “But it has become clear that the across-the-board reductions were necessary for the short and long-term financial needs of this department.”
