Iowa Football: The Iowa Athletics Department announced on Tuesday budget cuts of about $ 15 million for the next fiscal year as a result of a coronavirus, and many Hawkeyes coaches and senior managers will take voluntary future pay cuts in a year.

In a press release, Iowa officials said that the Athletics Department budget for the previous fiscal year was $ 124.8 million and the projected budget for the period 2020-21 was $ 127.5 million. It decreased to $ 112.5 million after it was cut to $ 13 million in operating expenses and about $ 2 million in compensation.

Gary Barta, Iowa's director of sports, said that women's basketball coaches Lisa Bluder, American football coach Kirk Ferentz, men's basketball coach Fran McCaffrey and wrestling coach Tom Brands voluntarily agreed to cut the 15%  of the basic salary for one year.

Barta will cut his total compensation by more than 30%, and AD Barbara Burke has agreed to cut wage by 25%.

"None of this is easy for our coaches and staff," Barta said in a statement. "I appreciate your continued understanding in these unstable times. We have been dealing with the epidemic in such a financial situation that requires difficult decisions. It is our responsibility to maintain a financially responsible process while providing the highest level of service to our student athletes."

Iowa officials said compensation cuts would be implemented throughout the athletic division on a sliding scale based on annual salary.

“I’m concerned about our employees and realize that lowering wages will have a major impact on many families across the department. I want to thank all of our employees for their support and understanding because we worked during this process,” said Barta. "We are trying to balance the necessary financial cuts by spreading the sacrifice carefully."

Barta said the announced budget and cuts were based on assumptions that upcoming football and basketball seasons would be played in the presence of the fans. If not, the Hawkeyes may have to make more significant cuts.

"These are tough times with a lot of uncertainty," said Berta.

Article source: espn

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