The University of Southern California is eliminating a dozen jobs in its athletic department in an effort to reduce costs in the wake of the House v. NCAA settlement.
Six athletics employees were told late last week that their roles in the department had been eliminated, a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly told the Los Angeles Times. The most senior among them was Paul Perrier, an executive senior associate athletic director, who spent two six-year stints at USC working under three athletic directors.
The University of Southern California is eliminating a dozen jobs in its athletic department in an effort to reduce costs in the wake of the House v. NCAA settlement.
Six athletics employees were told late last week that their roles in the department had been eliminated, a person familiar with the decision but not authorized to discuss it publicly told the Los Angeles Times. The most senior among them was Paul Perrier, an executive senior associate athletic director, who spent two six-year stints at USC working under three athletic directors.
Six other vacant roles have also since been eliminated, the source said.
Like many Division I schools, some of which have cut or plan to cut up to 10 percent of their athletics staffs, USC is planning to share the maximum of $20.5 million with its athletes that’s permitted by the settlement in 2025, the vast majority of which will go to the football program. "That’s no small expenditure — especially for a university in the midst of serious financial issues," wrote Ryan Kartjc of the Times.
USC, like other schools, continues to explore other revenue streams to help offset rising expenses, Kartjc reported, adding that USC recently signed a 15-year multimedia rights deal with Learfield that should help ease some of the burden of revenue sharing. Last season, the school sold ad space in the Coliseum end zone to DirecTV.
Some schools have opted to cut sports in an attempt to reduce costs, but USC has not resorted to that strategy so far. "Instead, athletic director Jennifer Cohen announced last month that USC would invest revenue-sharing dollars, in some form or fashion, with all 23 of the school’s athletics programs," wrote Kartjc.
