Pac-10 Conference Proposes Several Cuts To Trim Schools' Budgets

The Pac-10 during its summer meetings earlier this month "proposed eliminating several practices," including printed media guides, international trips and football team hotel stays the night before home games, according to John Hunt of the Portland OREGONIAN. The conference "requested the NCAA handle the proposal 'on an expedited basis,'" and the earliest the proposals "could be adopted is August and the reality of putting them into practice would be further down the road." The Univ. of Oregon (UO) "acted swiftly in eliminating printed media guides, trimming a quick $240,000 from its budget," and the school's "planned trip to China for the men's basketball team in the summer of 2010 is up in the air." But the school's football team, "bound by contract for the upcoming season, still will spend Friday nights before home games at the Hilton Eugene & Conference Center." Football coaches have "argued against the elimination of Friday night hotel stays before home games, which figures to save Oregon about $5,800 per night." Also under discussion at the meetings were "bowl tie-ins." Valero Alamo Bowl reps "attended the meetings," and UO AD Pat Kilkenny said that the Pac-10 is "'close to the backstretch' in deciding its bowl lineup for the 2010 season" (Portland OREGONIAN, 6/14).

Weathering the storm: Univ. of Minnesota (UM) President Robert Bruininks last week announced that the school "plans to cut 1,240 jobs because of budget cuts," but UM AD Joel Maturi said that he "won't have to cut anybody" from the athletic department. Maturi: "We do have to get permission to hire anybody new in our department, and we recently got permission to hire the additions we will need to operate the new football stadium." In Minneapolis, Sid Hartman noted while "a lot of college athletic departments are having revenue problems," UM "will finish in the black again this fiscal year" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 6/14).