Takedown Report

Concerns to Consider

Five FBS conferences, including AAC and C-USA, ask NCAA to relax Division I requirements
Five major football conference commissioners have asked the NCAA to relax requirements to compete in Division I for four years, including the minimum number of sports a school must sponsor. A letter from the commissioners of the American Athletic Conference, Mountain West Conference, Mid-American Conference, Sun Belt Conference and Conference USA to NCAA president Mark Emmert asked for temporary relief from financial aid requirements, along with average football attendance. The request was made on behalf of all 350 Division I schools. The commissioners also asked that a moratorium be placed on schools moving into Division I for the length of the waiver. The email, dated April 10, was first reported by Yahoo Sports and obtained Tuesday by ESPN. “As you are aware, the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant economic turmoil has resulted in the direst financial crisis for higher education since at least the Great Depression,” the commissioners wrote. MAC commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said the request was to “build flexibility into the decision-making process” schools will be facing.
The letter came to light the same day as the University of Cincinnati of the AAC announced it was dropping its men’s soccer program to cut costs. Earlier this month, Old Dominion, of C-USA, cut its wrestling program. NCAA rules require Division I schools to sponsor at least 16 varsity sports. The commissioners also requested …. Story at https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/29037022/five-fbs-conferences-including-aac-c-usa-ask-ncaa-relax-division-requirements

Survey: Athletic directors bracing for financial crisis
Athletic directors at the nation’s biggest sports schools are bracing for a potential financial crisis related to the coronavirus pandemic. According to a survey released Thursday by LEAD1, an association of athletic directors from 130 major college football schools, 63% forecast a worst-case scenario in which their revenues decrease by at least 20% during the 2020-21 school year. Even an abbreviated football season could cause schools to lose that much. LEAD1 and Teamworks, a company that created an app designed to help keep teams and athletic departments connected, conducted the survey of more than 100 ADs from schools in Division I’s Football Bowl Subdivision. “The State of Athletics in the Face of the Coronavirus” provides a sobering glimpse of the top concerns for the wealthiest athletic departments in the country. …. story at https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2020/04/02/survey-athletic-directors-bracing-for-financial-crisis/111516566/?mc_cid=c504aeb86a&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

With budgets tightening due to coronavirus fallout, will more college sports be cut?
With the specter of the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic looming over the collegiate landscape, tangible signs are beginning to appear of how the fiscal tightening will manifest itself. The most stinging blow yet came Tuesday when the University of Cincinnati cut the men’s soccer program. It’s the second major college program to be cut since the start of the pandemic, as Old Dominion cut its wrestling program earlier this month.  The foreboding feeling around the college sports industry is that the cuts have just begun. One athletic director summed up the financial options for schools as ranging “from a haircut to decapitation” amid an environment where athletic department pay cuts and furloughs have become common. “I think now that Cincinnati just did it, watch the next month,” said another athletic director from an FBS school. “They cleared the way for other people to do it. Cincinnati puts it on a different level. Unfortunately, you’re going to start to see it. When you have to right-size everything, that’s going to become a way out for a lot of these programs.” Schools desperate for financial relief
A letter to NCAA president Mark Emmert from the Group of Five commissioners obtained by Yahoo Sports on Tuesday offers searing insight into the financial constraints felt at that level and the potential for a landscape that could look much different when sports return to campus. The fallout being discussed by those commissioners includes the potential elimination of postseason conference tournaments and shortened seasons in non-revenue sports.
The letter from the commissioners of the AAC, Mountain West, MAC, Sun Belt and Conference USA asked for alterations of NCAA bylaws in the wake of COVID-19 in order to save money. The letter asks for “temporary relief from several regulatory requirements for a period of up to four years” in order to provide “short-term relief.” The letter hopes that this relief will provide “opportunity for institutions to retrench and rebuild the financial structures of the institution.”  …. story at https://sports.yahoo.com/with-budgets-tightening-will-more-college-sports-be-cut-204423901.html?mc_cid=48a895b9a1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Q&A: 10 questions with Old Dominion A.D. Dr. Wood Selig
Jason,
As you know, you are the only member of the media given the opportunity to ask follow-up questions. They have been answered honestly. Although we don’t have control on what you do with the answers, we hope you will treat your university fairly and give your followers the chance to see both sides of the issue.

• A review of the study Old Dominion paid consultant Dr. Richard Sander, a former Athletic Director at VCU from ODU’s former conference, the CAA, shows there was a 12-question survey submitted to members of the department, coaches, staff, donors and athletic constituents. What are/were those 12 questions and when were they distributed?
  (Answer only if the 12-question survey is not provided)
  As it relates to the 12-question survey, how many of those coaches, staff, donors and athletic constituents were actually representative of wrestling, men’s soccer and baseball programs and was the idea their program was SPECIFICALLY in danger ever outlined in any of those questions?
• WS: The survey was an initial tool utilized by Dr. Sander to get a sense of the department on several issues and did not play a major role in the ultimate decision-making process. Rather, it was a first step to get to know the department better and gain staff insight. Every athletics staff member was invited to participate. The survey focused more on strengths and weaknesses and did not include questions about sport sponsorship.
• The only time the word “academic” was found in the consultant’s study came with the term “academic year” and as a condition of wrestlers maintaining their financial aid. Why would Old Dominion even consider a study’s findings if …. story at http://www.mattalkonline.com/blog/news-blog/qa-10-questions-with-old-dominion-a-d-dr-wood-selig/?mc_cid=48a895b9a1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Responding to the Q&A with ODU AD Wood Selig
The original Q&A was posted at mattalkonline.com. The following is my editorial commentary and rebuttal regarding these Q&A answers. …. story at https://rokfin.com/article/1110?mc_cid=48a895b9a1&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Schools ask NCAA to relax member requirements
The remaining 22 Division I conferences outside of the Power 5 have joined the Group of 5 conferences in requesting that the NCAA relax its requirements for membership, including the minimum number of sports a school must sponsor and the number of games teams must play. But not all coaches were on board with the initiative. Northeast Conference commissioner Noreen Morris, chair of the Collegiate Commissioners’ Association Group (CCA22), told ESPN in an email Wednesday that CCA22 commissioners, who oversee FCS conferences and other non-football Division I leagues, submitted an addendum to the NCAA to include in its potential blanket waiver bylaws that were specific to the FCS and overall Division I membership. “When submitting the blanket waiver addendum, the CCA22 requested that the NCAA staff assist in coordinating a comprehensive review of potential NCAA bylaws that impact all three subdivisions — FBS, FCS and DI — for COVID-19 blanket waiver consideration,” Morris said. …. story at https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/29083340/schools-ask-ncaa-relax-member-requirements?mc_cid=17ded1ad3b&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

RUDIS Wrestling Podcast #148: Coach Bolyard on Program Cuts
On this episode of the RUDIS Wrestling Podcast, Matt Dernlan and Jason Bryant are joined by former Eastern Michigan head wrestling coach and current volunteer assistant coach at the University of Michigan, David Bolyard. Bolyard held the reigns on one of the most successful EMU wrestling programs in recent history before the program was cut in April of 2018. That season, EMU boasted its first All-American in wrestling since 1999, with Sa’Derian Perry placing eighth at 141 pounds, after qualifying a program-high five wrestlers for the NCAA Wrestling Championships. Weeks after the culmination of the season, Athletic Director Scott Wetherbee alerted Bolyard that his program would be cut, along with a few other Olympic sports. In light of Old Dominion University cutting its wrestling program earlier this month, the three discuss what it’s like for a head coach when their program is cut by the university, the steps taken after the fact, and how to move forward. …. story at https://therudis.com/rudis-wrestling-podcast-148-coach-bolyard-on-program-cuts/?mc_cid=845f982bf2&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

“I thought it was an April Fool’s joke”: Hampton Roads coaches stunned that Old Dominion cut wrestling
Ocean Lakes wrestling coach Chris Barnhart thought the news was a cruel April Fool’s joke. Great Bridge coach Matt Small called fellow Old Dominion alumni for confirmation. Disbelief and hurt rang through the high school wrestling community as ODU announced it had cut its wrestling program this month, citing financial challenges following a six-month study of the athletics program. “I was upset and destroyed,” said Barnhart, a 1999 graduate of ODU who has coached Ocean Lakes for 10 years. “I know (ODU coach) Steve (Martin) really well and know how hard he works with those boys and the program. I go to all the matches and we take (our team) to two matches a year. I felt terrible for him. I thought it was an April Fool’s joke.” Martin previously coached at Great Bridge for 14 years and lives down the street from Small. “It was just complete disbelief,” Small said. “ODU wrestling had evolved into a pillar in the community. What the program had done as far as the club nights, bringing in youth matches during social functions, reaching out to alumni, the annual golf tournament ― ….. rest of the stunning story at https://www.pilotonline.com/sports/vp-sp-odu-wrestling-cut-reactions-20200415-6qgug4swareovhvedlkygt2awe-story.html?mc_cid=eb28f2fdb6&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Boise State furloughs football coaching staff to help ease financial burden caused by coronavirus
The Broncos are addressing budget concerns with some significant personnel moves
Several collegiate coaches across the country have volunteered to take pay cuts as a result of budget concerns created by the coronavirus pandemic. Boise State, however, is taking its personnel changes to a new level to ease the financial burden. The school announced Monday that all employees who make more than $40,000 per year will be furloughed between four and 10 days depending on specific salary. The Idaho Statesman confirmed on Tuesday that the move applies football coaches, including Broncos head coach Bryan Harsin. “I hope our swift action now can help us avoid what could be more grave action later and provide for the long-term well-being of both our community and the institution,” school president Marlene Tromp wrote in the email obtained by the Idaho Statesman. It’s unknown whether these furloughs will take place at the same time or if they will be staggered to allow the football program to function as certain staff members are away at designated times. …. story at https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/boise-state-furloughs-football-coaching-staff-to-help-ease-financial-burden-caused-by-coronavirus/?mc_cid=945de33a33&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

Wrestling? Soccer? Tennis? Olympic sports face concerns as colleges grapple with economic fallout of COVID-19
SALT LAKE CITY — The potential postponement or cancellation of the college football season — and it is still only potential, far from a certainty — could wreak havoc on college athletic departments nationwide. Strictly in terms of budget, there’s cause to be concerned. And with only football and men’s basketball regularly operating in the black at most schools, that leaves a lot of student-athletes, coaches and administrators in a lurch if college sports’ crown jewel can’t be played this fall. The NCAA has already paid out $225 million to its member institutions for the men’s basketball tournament, down from an estimated $600 million in revenue. An analysis by USA Today estimates that schools also stand to lose $900,000 in the Power Five ranks without playing spring competition. Additional costs will be incurred as seniors return to campus for another year, and are thus forced to pay tuition for additional coursework — or even graduate studies — to continue to play the game they love. While he said his school would cover the cost of any senior who chose to return for another year, Utah State athletic director John Hartwell told the Deseret News that the Aggies could face an additional budget charge of close to $400,000 to accomplish the task. …. story at https://www.ksl.com/article/46742079/wrestling-soccer-tennis-olympic-sports-face-concerns-as-colleges-grapple-with-economic-fallout-of-covid-19?mc_cid=0abef116e3&mc_eid=2ef7cbca4b

May 6, 2020 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment