MINNEAPOLIS — The University of Minnesota Athletics Department is bracing for several possible revenue impacts depending on how long the coronavirus pandemic lingers, with one scenario costing the department 61% of its annual budget, university officials said Friday.
In a University Board of Regents meeting, Univ. of Minn. Athletic Director Mark Coyle and Deputy Athletic Director Rhonda McFarland said the department went from a $1 million surplus in February to a $4 million deficit after the NCAA March Madness tournaments were cancelled.
Looking ahead, the department is preparing for three potential financial forecasts.
The best-case scenario would be for all fall sports to be played as scheduled, including the U’s biggest moneymaker, football. Should those sports continue and fans and TV airings resume, McFarland said the U would lose about $10 million in revenue.
Option two forecasts a $30 million loss in revenue if fall sports were played, but without fans and ticket sales.
The third and worst-case scenario would be if all 25 U of M sports were cancelled through the end of the year. This would result in a loss of an estimated $75 million in revenue.
That figure would represent more than 60 percent of the athletic department’s 2020 fiscal year budget of $123 million.
University officials did not discuss if programs would need to be cut or how the department would stay afloat through each of these scenarios.
Regents also heard a report on the financial situation within the U’s Medical School and clinics.
Between the Community University Health Care Center, the College of Dentistry and the Veterinarian Medical Center, the university is losing about $5 million dollars in revenue each month.
Amid the financial impacts, the university has adapted to help the state deal with this pandemic.
Three medical research departments were quickly turned into COVID-19 testing labs.
Researchers at the medical school developed an antibody test for people to find out if they have been exposed to the virus, a key ingredient to getting the state running again.
Jakub Tolar, Dean of the Medical School and Vice President for Clinical Affairs at the U of M, said on top of reduced retirement contributions and voluntary leadership salary cuts, University of Minnesota Physicians will see a unilateral 10 to 25 percent cut in salary, staff salary reductions of 10 to 20 percent, and non-personnel expense reductions.
The cuts total out to roughly $12.5 million in savings each month.