Financial Constraints Lead to Difficult Decisions in Athletics

October 22, 2020

Dear Campus Community,

As Purdue Fort Wayne continues to experience and adapt to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’m writing to share some news regarding important budget measures that are being implemented today.

One area of the university that has been hit especially hard as a result of the pandemic is our Department of Athletics, which is heavily dependent on revenue generated by men’s basketball game guarantees, ticket sales, NCAA and league distributions, concessions, sponsorships, and philanthropy—as well as support from the university’s general fund. With athletics competition suspended and/or extremely limited, maintaining normal operations has been a significant challenge and is putting strain specifically on the department’s budget.

In close coordination with Athletic Director Kelley Hartley Hutton, our Office of Human Resources, and our senior budget managers, we have made the very difficult, yet necessary, decision to implement immediate procedures to conserve resources and limit expenditures in our athletics program this year.

All staff in Athletics have been notified that they will be required to take a number of furlough days between November 23, 2020, and June 22, 2021. This means that the 41 affected employees are required to take 15 or more days off without pay during that time. Fortunately, all employee benefits will remain intact for these individuals during this period.

We know this action is a disappointment to student-athletes, our valued Athletics staff and their families, and colleagues across the university. I assure you we did not take this step lightly, and every effort was made to minimize the impact on students and staff. Athletics felt that short-term furloughs applied across the program would be less disruptive than an outright reduction in force. Additionally, it will leave the department better positioned to resume normal operations as future public health and financial conditions allow.

No additional furloughs are planned at this time. We will continue to make every effort to manage the university’s finite resources with as little impact as possible on our valued employees. Our top priority must be to ensure an outstanding academic and campus experience for our students.

Thank you for your support and understanding as we continue to adjust to new realities our university faces as a result of this pandemic.

Sincerely,

Ron Elsenbaumer
Chancellor