Indiana eliminates 25 athletic department jobs to prepare for revenue sharing, AP sources say
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A new revenue-sharing model for college sports is forcing the Indiana University athletic department to cut costs — even if it means layoffs.
School officials have eliminated 25 athletic department positions, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school has not made a public announcement.
It’s clear that the Indians and many other schools are facing an unprecedented dilemma – either pay players market value or risk becoming less competitive on the field. In Bloomington, the solution appears to be running a leaner department.
The Hoosiers gave AP coach of the year Curt Cignetti a raise after he won a school-record 11 games and led Indiana to the College Football Playoff for the first time in history. . Athletic director Scott Dolson wants to keep Indiana’s football program nationally ranked, but that poses a challenge given the increasing financial pressure on his department.
As part of a court settlement, the NCAA agreed to provide nearly $2.8 billion to former athletes, who are barred from making money from their names, images and likenesses until a 2021 Supreme Court ruling clears the way for such payments. The NCAA intends to provide $1.2 billion of that amount, while schools must provide the rest.
The new revenue-sharing model will also allow each participating school to directly pay players a projected total of $22 million next season, rather than relying on the current NIL collective.
Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski has repeatedly committed to fully funding the Boilermakers as they search for a new football coach, and Dolson appears ready to follow suit.
For the Indians, that means cutting costs by about 10% in departments such as the athletic department’s compliance and communications departments. Indiana plans to leave about a dozen open positions while laying off about 13 employees — some of whom have been with the athletic department for decades.
Indiana does not plan to cut any athletic programs, coaches or team staff. The moves were announced in a letter Thursday, according to the Indianapolis Star.
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This story has been corrected. A previous version incorrectly reported that Indiana would lay off 25 athletic department staffers, rather than eliminating 25 jobs, with approximately a dozen of those jobs vacant.
