Georgia Tech Associate AD/Administration & Finance Marvin Lewis presented an $80.5M "balanced budget to the board, which was approved," and it is "4% smaller than the budget" for FY '20, which ends on Tuesday, according to Ken Sugiura of the ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION. The reduction is "fairly modest," and making the ends meet "will require furloughs for staff across the department, including coaches." The salary budget "will be cut" by $3.2M, from $32.5M to $29.3M. The reduction "will be achieved through tiered furloughs and a 'critical review of all positions.'" The travel and recruiting budget was "reduced by 24%" -- $7.1M to $5.4M -- and "spending for uniforms and equipment is planned to be cut" from $1M to $657,000. Expected reductions in football attendance "lie at the heart of the reduced revenue projections." The athletic department "will count on" $32.5M from the ACC, "largely furnished by ESPN money for the ACC Network." To compensate for the losses in football ticket revenue, the department "will scoop out 51% more money from its endowment funds" -- $14.7M -- than last year's budget (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/25).
TAKE A BREATHER: In Atlanta, Chip Towers notes Georgia Athletic Association administrators and employees were "breathing a sigh of relief Thursday after state house and senate leaders approved a budget that will not require mandatory furloughs." Gov. Brian Kemp recently reduced the furlough rate for state employees to 10%, but that "still would require more than two weeks of unpaid leave for UGA's higher-paid employees, including football coach Kirby Smart and men's basketball coach Tom Crean." Georgia AD Greg McGarity on Thursday said that the school's privately funded athletic department "would participate in any furlough actions that might be required of the university by the University System of Georgia." The Board of Regents, which oversees the University System, "still could suggest furloughs in order to meet tighter budgets" (ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION, 6/26).
