UPDATE: Contrary to other reports, Tomahawk Nation can confirm the following pay cuts within the Florida State athletics department:
Seminoles football head coach Mike Norvell: 25 percent
Men’s and women’s basketball coaches Leonard Hamilton and Sue Semrau: Roughly 15 percent
Athletics director David Coburn: 20 percent
The impact of the 2019 novel coronavirus has impacted us all to varying degrees. Governments, businesses, and families are grappling with the ability to go about our daily lives while still remaining as safe as possible. The sports world, of course, is not immune. We’ve already seen the NCAA and multiple professional contests postponed or cancelled. Colleges, like Stanford, have announced the elimination of multiple collegiate sports. Now, with fall sports approaching rapidly, institutions are bracing for an additional reduction in revenue. Whether it’s a conference only schedule like the Big 10 has already announced, or reduced attendance at games, the 2020 season will not be a normal season.
Florida State is not and will not be immune to the financial realities that a global pandemic brings. This is especially the case for Florida State as its athletic budget is outside of the academic budget. This afternoon, the athletic department has announced they are eliminating 25 full-time positions. Additionally, there will be:
- 10% reduction in salary for employees making $150,000 and above (we would assume this would include all the coaching staff. Coach Norvell, Coach Hamiliton, and Cach Serau are all named as those taking pay cuts in the announcement).
- 7.5% reduction in salary for employees making between $72,000 and $149,999
- 5% reduction in salary for employees making between $43,000 and $71,999
The overall operating budget will be cut by 20%. There is also a possibility that staff is furloughed.
At this time, we do not have any additional information than what was released. We will update this post with information as we get it.