The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
AD Stansbury stays positive as financial pressures mount
With obvious pride, Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury narrated a series of photos, videos and slides sure to please any Yellow Jackets fan. On a videoconference for the athletic association board meeting Thursday, Stansbury raved about the new women’s basketball locker room and the progress of renovations at Russ Chandler Stadium.
He touted the successes of some of Tech’s teams and athletes, such as the women’s cross- country team’s second- place finish at the ACC championships, the volleyball team finishing its fall season ranked tied for sixth nationally and former Tech golfer Andy Ogletree claiming l ow- amateur status at the Masters last week.
“OK, well, that was the fun part,” he said with a rueful laugh. “Now we go to financial challenges.”
In an update on his athletic department’s struggles to stay financially afloat, Stansbury didn’t try to downplay the rough waters that the department is trying to navigate. The department, which spent $ 91 million last year, has had to trim expenses for the fiscal year to $ 75 million to offset the significant drop in ticket revenues because of COVID- 19.
“We definitely have a serious challenge ahead of us,” Stansbury said.
The cuts often have been severe and painful. Tech’s personnel budget for fiscal year 2020 — which ended at the end of June — was $ 32.5 mill i on ( spending ended up at $ 34.7 million). The initial FY 2021 budget proposed spending $ 29.3 million on personnel, a cut of about 10% from the previous year. The revised budget has reduced the allotment even further, to $ 26.1 million, a 20% slice off last year’s budget.
Tech previously was prepared to participate in a furlough program authorized by the University System of Georgia, but the system called off the plan in June. The department now faces having to institute its own measures.
No employees have been laid off, as Stansbury has avoided a decision t hat many of hi s colleagues have enacted. Part of the cuts have been covered by 16 vacant positions that have not been filled.
The athletic department also i s “evaluating various cost- saving strategies within the personnel area due to our current financial position,” senior associate AD Marvin Lewis wrote in an email.
The recruiting budget has been cut by 50%, Stansbury said, although the NCAA’S prohibition on coaches seeing recruits in person ( both on campus and away from campus) has created automatic savings.
Stansbury did see light ahead. He said that he was in conversations for three potential corporate partnerships “that I think can help us in a pretty significant way.”
He also said that the department has been in discussions to bring concerts and other potentially profitable events back to Bobby Dodd Stadium when the state, city and health agencies permit such gatherings again. The ACC Network provided an extra $ 4 million in distributions from the conference, which totaled $ 29.7 million and figures to increase.
And, as posted on a slide li sting plans to aid financial recovery — in an all- caps bullet point — “WINNING.”
“Winning makes money,” Stansbury said.