Boise State is joining the ranks of universities nationwide to announce plans to furlough employees in an attempt to mitigate the financial effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an email to staff Monday night, Boise State president Marlene Tromp announced the mandate and said that the school has already taken “nearly $10 million” in losses due to canceled events extending into the summer, according to the Idaho Statesman.
“I hope our swift action now can help us avoid what could be more grave action later and provide for the long-term well-being of both our community and the institution,” Tromp wrote in the email.
All employees making over $40,000 a year will be required to take furloughs of varying lengths between May 3 and July 21. Those making up to $150,000 will be furloughed for 10 days, those making $100,000 to $149,999 for seven days, those making $75,000 to $99,999 for five days, and those in the $40,000-$74,999 will have to take four days.
Boise State’s women’s-only swimming & diving program is headed by Christine Mabile, who just wrapped her second season with the team. According to publicly available records, Mabile had an annual salary of about $85,010 in 2018 and head diving coach Brandon Blaisdell made $47,278. Second-year assistant coach Jordan Lieberman made $43,014.
In an FAQ section on its website, Boise State said that furloughed employees “cannot perform work in any capacity during this time, including answering email, returning calls, or being ‘on-call.'” That policy puts a damper on recruiting efforts, although the NCAA is already enforcing a dead period through May 31.
Last week, Arizona also announced that some of its athletics staff (including coaches) would be subject to furloughs. Wednesday, Louisville announced its athletics department would be hit with furloughs and layoffs, but said that no coaching staffs would be affected.
The only one losing money is Head Coach. The asst swim and diving coach each make an extra 500 this year if you factor in the 1200 stimulus. Not a bad deal.
Tromp, Trump and Trimp…all good I say to say some money. Coaches never take a break…good for them.
Yeah, look at the bright side I guess. You get some unpaid vacation?
That’s not bad. Only 7 day furlough for the head coach and 4 days for the other coaches on staff. That’s mild considering the state of affairs college athletics are dealing with from COVID.
Question-they mention how much they’ve lost – how much have they saved in cancelling spring sports (travel, hotels, etc.)? Just curious the net loss.
Good question. How have they lost money? If most schools raise money from football and men’s basketball, where are the losses currently coming from. I guess it could be donations.
That basketball money was a rather large sum that every school missed out on. And most budgets even moving forward with the understanding that that money is/was coming in.
Keep in mind the losses are from the university as a whole. Not athletics. Though athletic departments may have not spent money with spring sports not finishing, some programs over spend during the year. Also many schools paid back portions of student/athletic fees when they moved to online courses. That is money that departments were counting on and no longer have.
As well as refunded room and board…