Reporter tells Paul Finebaum that colleges are considering cutting staff and even sports amid coronavirus outbreak
By Adam Spencer
Published:
It’s an unprecedented time in college sports, as things have pretty much been shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The NCAA Tournament — both men’s and women’s — were canceled, and that’s a huge revenue hit for the NCAA.
Could we see some drastic measures being taken across Division I athletic departments? Michael Smith of Sports Business Journal joined “The Paul Finebaum Show” on Monday and said he’s heard a source say some schools are considering cutting staff size and potentially even cutting sports:
.@smittySBJ tells @finebaum he talked to a source consulting with two athletic departments today. "Both of those conversations include cutting staff and cutting sports. I hope that's not where we're headed, but it very well could be."
— Brandon Zimmerman (@BZSEC) March 30, 2020
More @SmittySBJ on the possibility of reducing the 14 sports required to be Division I. "I can't help but wonder if this will be an opportunity for the NCAA to go: 'I wonder if 10 is the right number.'"
— Brandon Zimmerman (@BZSEC) March 30, 2020
There’s still time likely before any decisions like that would be necessary, but it is still a concerning line of thought.
Hopefully, we can get past the COVID-19 outbreak and get back to normal, but this pandemic might put a bit of a halt on the outrageous spending some college athletic departments have enjoyed during the boom period.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
