The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s athletic department has eliminated roughly 25% of its staff positions as the university grapples with a major campus-wide budget shortfall.
As reported by KPEL in Breaux Bridge, La., athletic director Bryan Maggard told The Advocate of Baton Rouge that the department is currently operating with about 35 fewer staff members after proactively reducing its budget from $46 million to $42.7 million. The cuts came even before campus-wide directives were issued last fall.
Interim UL Lafayette president Ramesh Kolluru told faculty and staff last fall the university had cut millions from a $50 million deficit through spending freezes and position eliminations. Each department was then asked to reduce spending by 10% to close a remaining $10.5 million gap.
Remaining athletics employees are now handling multiple roles, KPEL reported. Maggard said ticketing staff are now also managing in-venue marketing duties, while the department relies on outside contractors to fill gaps.
“We’ve got people pulling double and sometimes triple duty,” Maggard said. “Our current staffing model is not sustainable long term.”
Per the KPEL report, financial data shows UL Lafayette trails most conference peers in institutional support. The university ranks 12th out of 14 Sun Belt schools at $18.9 million in institutional support, nearly $9 million below the conference average of $27.7 million.
The department reported a $12.6 million deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
In addition to the staffing cuts, the department’s expanded nutrition program for student-athletes was significantly scaled back, eliminating nutrition staff positions and reducing snacks provided to athletes under NCAA rules. Resulting savings total roughly $800,000.
“That was one of the most painstaking decisions in this process,” Maggard said. “Getting the snacks back to the athletes is a high priority, because how they fuel their bodies is critically important to their athletic and overall success.”
Maggard emphasized that many fixed costs can’t be reduced, including travel, event management, officials, custodial duties, and student-athlete medical and insurance expenses. Scholarships, which cost about $9 million annually, were likewise preserved.
Meanwhile, the athletic department is looking at new revenue sources to help bridge the financial gap, per the KPEL report. Maggard said the department is exploring hosting concerts at the newly renovated Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium at Cajun Field, home of Ragin' Cajun football, and developing facility lease agreements with other sports organizations.
The university’s goal is to end the fiscal year on June 30 with a balanced budget.
