The Big 12 isn’t immune to the financial difficulties created by the coronavirus pandemic.
On the first day of this month, Iowa State announced a one-year reduction in pay and bonuses for all of its coaches. Athletic directors at Oregon (HERE) and Wyoming (HERE) are taking cuts in pay. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, who reportedly made north of $5 million a year ago, is taking a 20% pay cut.
Thursday, Scott’s Big 12 counterpart, Bob Bowlsby, confirmed that he will be taking a 10% cut in pay through the end of this year. That pay cut will also apply to the other staff in the conference’s office. The commissioner also highlighted other cost-saving initiatives the league will undertake.
“We’ve eliminated all year-end bonuses and are formulating a reduced scope of operation plan that saves quite a bit of money, but we’re a relatively small operation,” Bowlsby stated. “Most of our resources are passed through to our members.”
Related to the financial ramifications of the pandemic, Bowlsby also expressed concern about “whether or not we can have a full and robust season.”
“Virtually every program is highly reliant on football revenue,” the commissioner told ESPN.com. “We’re making lots of contingency plans, but if you don’t get the anticipated number of games in, you lose the donations, you lose the sponsorships, you lose the gate receipts and you lose the TV. It’s potentially very impactful.”
At this point, it’s decidedly uncertain -- unless you’re Dabo Swinney or Mike Gundy -- when the 2020 college football season will start. Or if it will even start. There’s chatter that it could start in October, although one Bay Area health official doesn’t expect sports to return until at least Thanksgiving. January has been floated as a possibility as well. So has the spring of next year.
The only certainty in all of this is that everyone involved in the sport will go to extreme lengths to ensure that a season is played in some form or fashion.