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Morris: Budget cuts force colleges to find new ways to save |
While the economic crisis generally has not affected college athletics, programs across the country have moved into belt-tightening mode. South Carolina and Clemson are no exceptions.Steve Spurrier’s USC football team will bus to North Carolina State for its season-opening game in September, saving the athletics department approximately $15,000. Like all Clemson employees, football coach Dabo Swinney and men’s basketball coach Oliver Purnell have been subject to five-day furloughs, which translates into a $7,600 salary savings for the athletics department.USC and Clemson are examining budgets and looking for areas to trim costs. Should the economy worsen, it is conceivable schools could discontinue the practice of housing football teams in a hotel the night before home games (USC would save approximately $120,000 this coming season) and eliminate pregame meals for the media and athletics officials at home football games (savings of approximately $31,500 for USC).“We have to be cautious,” says Eric Hyman, USC’s athletics director. “I’m always trying to be prudent in what we do. But sometimes people aren’t as prudent as I’d like for them to be. Going forward, I think people recognize the times are different.”At Clemson, Katie Hill is the senior associate athletics director in charge of internal affairs, including the budget. She said escalating fuel costs a year ago ignited efforts throughout the athletics department to begin scaling back, particularly in travel for nonconference events.
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