Florida A&M Trustees approve sports budget cuts for 05-06
June 30, 2005
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The Florida A&M University Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Thursday morning to approve 2005-06 athletic budget reductions which include the elimination of the school's men's golf, men's tennis, as well as the men's and women's swimming and diving programs.
The Board also voted to keep the FAMU Athletic Program at the NCAA Division One level overall and football at the Division I-AA level, which requires a minimum of 14 sports.
Interim Athletic Director Dr. E. Newton Jackson said the sports cuts alone would save approximately $600,000.
Overall, FAMU's athletic budget would be reduced by $3.3 million to about $6.7 million.
The 2004-2005 budget was set at $8 million, however about $10 million was actually spent, it was revealed on Thursday.
Thursday's actions reduce the budget to a level comparable to the 2002-03 academic year - the year before the 2003 attempt to move FAMU's football program from Division I-AA to I-A.
The budget measures include:
•Elimination of four sports programs (Men's and Women's Swimming, Men's Golf and Men's Tennis), reducing the school's total number of athletic programs from 18 to 14.*
•A one-third reduction in scholarship dollars.
•Reduced travel for the famed "Marching 100" Band. Last year, $400,000 was spent by Athletics to transport the band to seven games. The group will travel only to games to which they are part of the event contract (Atlanta, Orlando).
•Other cost-saving measures announced include a 16-percent cut in expenses that will be applied across the board for the remaining 14 sports.
•Also to be instituted will be a 52 percent reduction in support-staff (OPS) salaries, which could save $250,000.
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*Remaining Men's Sports include: Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field.
*Remaining Women's Sports include: Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.
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