Furman University stunned sports fans in South Carolina Monday afternoon with the announcement that its baseball and men’s lacrosse programs were being eliminated due to the financial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The school also announced it will cut 45 additional scholarships over five years in a variety of sports. The school also announced it would cut the salaries of the president and senior administrators, implement furloughs and budget reductions, and discontinue the baseball and men’s lacrosse programs.
Here is what Furman University plans to do:
• A voluntary 20% salary reduction for the president and a voluntary 10% salary reduction for the vice presidents, athletics director, head coaches for football and men’s basketball, and other more highly compensated employees.
• A 5.5% reduction in operating budgets for the next fiscal year.
• A reduction of 2.5 percentage points in Furman’s contribution to employee retirement plans.
• Summer furloughs for employees with diminished workloads, and two weeks of furloughs (or equivalent) for all other employees to be taken during the next fiscal year. Furman’s human resources office will assist furloughed employees, who will retain their health benefits, with applying for unemployment and other assistance.
• Discontinuing the baseball and men’s lacrosse programs immediately, and reducing the total number of athletics scholarships by 45 over the next five years, with the reductions spread across multiple sports.
Monday night on SportsTalk, Furman athletics director Jason Donnelly detailed the process behind the decisions made by the administration.
Jason Donnelly on SportsTalk
