Student-athletes are the priority as Rick George grapples with budget uncertainty

With the COVID-19 situation in flux, there’s uncertainty almost everywhere within the Colorado Buffaloes’ athletic department.

“There are a lot of different scenarios on the table,” Buffsathletic director Rick George said Thursday. “We have groups that are working on what all those different scenarios look like from a competitive standpoint. And we’re not just talking football, we’re talking about all fall sports. So, if football doesn’t play or it is pushed back, it would be very similar to all of our other fall sports.”

How the football season is handled may be similar to how other seasons are handled, but there are plenty of differences between Colorado’s football program and most of its other athletics programs.

The biggest difference is the money.

“Certainly football, we know, is significant because of the revenue that it generates,” George said. “We’re looking at that closely. As we go through these different scenarios, the health and safety of our student-athletes is primary. So, we’re looking at how much time you would need to get your student-athletes physically ready. That goes into play as well. Could the season be pushed back? That is a scenario. Could it start on time? That is a scenario. There are a lot of things that are out there being discussed. We’re looking at all those different scenarios.”

Head basketball coach Tad Boyle was offered his $105,000 NCAA Tournament appearance bonus but declined it and told George to use the money somewhere else.

Could other coaches be asked to return money or take a cut to their salary?

“Certainly everything is on the table,” George said, noting that he’d be the first to take a pay cut if Colorado opts for this scenario. “We’re having those discussions and we’re talking through what that might look like. But again, we’re trying to be methodical in our approach to this. I think the last time we were together I mentioned we feel really good about finishing this budget year, which ends June 30th. We should be in the black.”

It may be surprising to hear that George expects to turn a profit this year, but don’t forget that every game canceled is one less trip to pay for. CU is cutting some expenses as well as cutting revenue.

The cancellation of the Dead & Company shows that were scheduled to be played at Folsom this summer still stings, as do the losses of other events.

“We’ve still got some things that we’re looking at but we had to eliminate all of our on-campus events, which is a hit to us from a revenue perspective in this fiscal year,” George said. “We know that the NCAA’s distribution is going to be significantly less and so we’ve looked at all of that and we still believe that we will be in the black. I am confident in that and that is why we haven’t moved as quickly. We just got our third-quarter report on Friday on where we were. Now, we’re really focused on the budgeting process for 2020-21. Hopefully by the end of this month, early May, we’ll have a little more clarity on what that looks like.”

The next year will likely be tougher to manage than this year, but it’s good to know the Buffs are still standing strong financially.

As this process continues, George has already decided what’s going to be most important in his discussions.

“I have given this a lot of thought: My first priority is the support areas that we have for our student-athletes,” George said. “We’re talking about our mental health area, we’re talking academics, nutrition, leadership and career development, sports medicine, all of those areas.”

The Buffs have been opening up “Snack Shacks” a couple of days per week, where student-athletes who are still in Boulder can grab jerky, protein bars or other snacks.

“We tell them that we’re going to create this world-class experience for them and those are areas that would be my priority,” George said.