ECU yesterday announced "more temporary furloughs and salary reductions" because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has the school "projecting a 'sizable deficit' this year." In Raleigh, Kate Murphy notes the entire athletics staff, including coaches, "will be affected," and the furloughs "will start Nov. 1." The furloughs and pay cuts are "based on salary and will be effective through June 30, 2021." Football and men's basketball head coaches will have their base salaries "temporarily reduced by 20%," while coaches and staff members making greater than or equal to $100,000 will have their salaries "reduced by 12%" (Raleigh NEWS & OBSERVER, 10/20).
W&M BRINGS BACK CUT SPORTS: In Virginia, Marty O'Brien notes William & Mary is "reinstating the sports of women’s gymnastics, swimming and volleyball." W&M announced Sept. 3 that those sports, along with four others, would be "eliminated at the end of the 2020-21 academic year." The athletic cuts "prompted a firestorm of criticism" from the W&M community, "much of it directed at" former AD Samantha Huge, who resigned in early October. W&M yesterday in a release acknowledged that its decision to reinstate the women’s sports was "in reaction to the threat of the lawsuit and the necessity to move closer to Title IX compliance" (Norfolk VIRGINIAN-PILOT, 10/20).
