The University of Arkansas athletic department has joined certain Division I peers in trimming as much as 10% of its staff at the dawn of the revenue-sharing era in college athletics.
As reported by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the department underwent a widespread reduction in its staff of nearly 300, including early retirements, last week.
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The University of Arkansas athletic department has joined certain Division I peers in trimming as much as 10% of its staff at the dawn of the revenue-sharing era in college athletics.
As reported by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the department underwent a widespread reduction in its staff of nearly 300, including early retirements, last week.
The Razorbacks join the universities of Kansas, Michigan and Oklahoma in announcing personnel cuts of similar magnitude.
"Yesterday was one of the toughest if not the toughest day in my 16 years as an athletic director," athletic director Hunter Yurachek told the Democrat Gazette on Thursday. "We've obviously had some conversations like that with coaches, but these were different conversations yesterday with our staff members that we had to have.
"They were conversations with really good friends, really good people. People with families. People that are devastated and going to be impacted. It's just all part of the changes — major changes — that are going on in college athletics as we prepare for the revenue sharing that begins on July 1. "
Like other schools that opt into the plan resulting from the House v. NCAA settlement, Arkansas must prepare to begin sharing $20.5 million per year with athletes starting July 1.
The staff reduction was essentially department-wide, Yurachek said, although coaching staffs and some other areas were not involved.
The plan was to reduce the salaries and benefits line within the department's operating budget by around $2.5 million. Other schools, including Kansas, have set an even higher target in terms of financial savings.
"I went to each of my deputy athletic directors and asked them to find me anywhere from 5 to 10% salary savings within their various units and that was so we didn't hone in on any one unit," Yurachek said. "Obviously, we tried to stay away from, and we did, from our sports and doing anything with coaching staffs — people directly tied to sports like athletic trainers. We had some requirements for that — strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists, mental health processionals. So there's some areas we didn't touch. The majority of these took place on the administrative side."
Yurachek said he's aware that other major athletic departments have gone through similar movements this year. The online staff directory for Arkansas Athletics lists 24 departments and 271 employees.
Yurachek told the Democrat Gazette that everyone involved in the reduction will leave in good standing. "They will be terminated in good standing and they can reapply for positions that come available in the future in the athletic department, the university, etc," he said. "So no one was let go in bad standing yesterday, and that's what makes it worse."
Asked by Tom Murphy of the Democrat Gazette if the streamlined department could meet the needs and standards Arkansas is used to, Yurachek replied that time will tell.
"We lost some really good people," he said. "We've got some really good people that are a part of our department that will have to take on some additional duties and I think are willing to step up and do that.
"We believe that we can continue to have success like we've had and service our student-athletes, our fans, our coaches, just like we have since I arrived. But time will tell."
