By Braden Keith on SwimSwam
The University of North Carolina is the latest Power 5 athletics department to announce deep spending cuts in an attempt to close the gap between revenue and expenses in a year with reduced revenue from football.
The school says that they are projecting a loss of between $30 million and $52 million in projected revenue related to challenges presented by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including loss of revenue from ticket sales, sponsorship and television revenue, conference distributions and concessions sales.
This loss comes in spite of the ACC being one of 3 Power 5 conferences that are planning to play football this fall. FBS football’s first games of the season were played on Thursday evening, with the ACC planning to begin play next Thursday, September 10.
North Carolina will kick off their season on September 12 at noon against Syracuse.
The University of Michigan, which currently is not planning on playing football this season, though that situation is evolving, similar cost-savings moves this week came with a projection of $100 million of revenue.
Cost Savings Measures Implemented:
- Cutting sport budgets by 10% for 2020-2021
- Implemented a spending freeze
- Halted non-essential travel
- Left 17 full-time open positions in the department unfilled.
- Coaches and staff members making $200,000 or more will have their salaries reduced by 20 percent,
- Coaches and staff members making $100,000 to $200,000 will have their salaries reduced by 10 percent, and
- Coaches and staff members who make less than $100,000 will be furloughed for 15 days.
The salary reductions and furloughs will begin on October 1 and remain in effect until June 30, 2021.
According to public records, first year head coach Mark Gangloff had a salary of $150,000 last season. Presuming that salary didn’t jump too drastically for year 2, that will leave him in the 10% pay cut reduction.
All Swimming & Diving Coaches’ Salaries, based on 2019:
- Head Coach Mark Gangloff, $150,000 (Reduction: $12,000
- Associate Head Coach Jack Brown: $77,500 (Reduction: 15 day furlough)
- Head Diving Coach Yaidel Gamboa: $75,000 (Reduction: 15 day furlough)
- Assistant Coach Michael Baric: $42,840 (Reduction: 15 day furlough)
- Assistant Coach Allyson Sweeney: $45,000 (Reduction: 15 day furlough)
- Director of Operations Hunter Hojnacki: $40,000 (Reduction: 15 day furlough)
Note: presumes equal pay throughout the year, with salary reductions applying to only the last 75% of the fiscal year.
A furlough is, in essence, a mandatory unpaid vacation. During a furlough, employees are not paid, but they retain benefits like health insurance, where applicable.
The program also lists Rafael Ortiz and Eli Danson as volunteer assistants. While volunteers aren’t paid and, in theory, won’t be directly impacted, they could help fill the gaps on-deck left by the mandatory furloughs to other staff members.
“This was not an easy decision,” UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham said in announcing the moves. “Our coaches and staff work diligently each day to ensure that our student-athletes have the best experience possible, and their dedication makes Carolina a truly special place. This was also a necessary decision, because we must do everything we can to provide as many opportunities as possible for student-athletes in the future.
“Unfortunately, these reductions will not cover our projected losses in revenue in 2020-21. As we move forward, I will continue to work with Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz, Rams Club Executive Director John Montgomery and others to find additional ways to address our financial challenges and prepare for the future.”
Cunningham, who in 2019 had an annual salary of $747,844.40, will be among those hit the deepest by the cuts. Based on his 2019 salary, he’ll see a reduction of pay of over $112,000.
UNC has a unique situation where 2 of their football assistant coaches are actually paid more in salary than their head coach Mac Brown, though this doesn’t include things like bonuses, benefits, or outside money earned.
Athletics’ Highest Paid Coaches & Staff, 2019:
- Assistant Football Coach Philip Longo – $900,000
- Assistant Football Coach Clyde Bateman – $900,000
- Head Football Coach Mac Brown – $750,000
- Athletics Director Bubba Cunningham – $747,844.40
- Head Men’s Basketball Coach Roy Williams – $595,409
- Assistant Football Coach Tommy Thigpen – $550,000
- Assistant Football Coach Stacy Searels – $506,000
- Head Strength & Conditioning COach Brian Hess – $500,000
- Assistant Football Coach Jovan Dewitt – $500,000
- Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach Steve Robinson – $475,000
In Gangloff’s first season as head coach, the North Carolina women placed 4th at the ACC Championships, while the North Carolina men placed 7th.
Read the full story on SwimSwam: UNC Announces Pay Cuts, Staff Furloughs a Week Before Football Season Begins