Intercollegiate Athletics to institute extended furloughs for much of staff

Ohio University Intercollegiate Athletics will implement extended furloughs for 56 administrators and coaches over the next three months in anticipation of reduced revenues due to the postponement of fall sports, Director of Athletics Julie Cromer announced.

The department has been preparing for extended furloughs since the Mid-American Conference’s decision to postpone fall sports competition until the spring. 

The extended furloughs impact two-thirds of the 84 full-time staff members in Intercollegiate Athletics. The furloughs will last one month for these employees. The furloughs will be spread out over three months, ending in mid- to late November, to ensure continuity of service. Head coaches are identifying furlough schedules around team training periods. In addition, Cromer is increasing her own voluntary salary reduction by 5 percent, for a total of 15 percent, for the remainder of FY21 and is declining performance bonuses for FY21.

The furloughs do not impact members of the Sports Performance team, which includes athletic trainers and strength and conditioning staff responsible for managing COVID-19 protocols for student-athletes during training periods. It also does not impact 14 coaches who are not eligible for the furlough due to the guidelines in the University’s FY21 furlough plan.