Yesterday came the inevitable announcement by WSU Athletics: The athletic department, facing dire circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, announced various salary reductions, as well as furloughs and the elimination of 10 full-time positions.
Of note, Nick Rolovich and Kyle Smith will take a 15% salary cut, while Kamie Ethridge will take a 12.5% cut. All athletics staff members not on contracts will need to take four furlough weeks.
These mitigations and previous spending reductions are expected to save WSU about $6.5 million as it prepares for a potential revenue loss of about $30 million. Yikes.
These moves aren’t unique to Washington State, of course.