ORLANDO, Fla. — OK, who wants to be first?
Who wants to be the first benevolent big-name college head coach to voluntarily step up and give up his salary to save jobs amid the coronavirus crisis?
Will it be Alabama football coach Nick Saban, who makes $8.9 million a year?
Will it be Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney, who makes $9.3 million a year?
Or maybe Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski, who makes $9 million a year?
Or maybe Florida Gators football coach Dan Mullen, even though he only makes a paltry $6 million a year?
Come on, guys, somebody has to be the first and then you know the others will follow.
And, believe me, if you’re the first, you will be held up and lauded as a hero among the fans and national media.
Here’s hoping college sports isn’t like so many other corporations during economic downturns when the bigwig bosses keep raking in their seven- and eight-figure salaries while the entry-level employees are jettisoned and relegated to a $300 a week unemployment check. In my mind, the first people to take pay cuts during the massive financial decline that is about to hit the college athletics industry should be the high-profile, multi-million-dollar-a-year coaches who can most afford it.
It’s obvious that everybody in practically every business is feeling the devastating economic ramifications of the global coronavirus pandemic. All you had to do on Thursday was watch the news for two minutes to learn that an historic high of 6.6 million U.S. workers filed for unemployment just last week alone.
College athletics certainly is not going to be spared from the economic carnage. I’ve already written the gloom-and-doom stories of how the entire system could come crumbling down if we don’t have a football season.
“There better be (a season) or many programs will be out of business,” one athletics director told college football insider Brett McMurphy of WatchStadium.com.
Another AD was more blunt: “If there’s no season, we will be f—–.”
Obviously, all of us hope there is a football season in some form or fashion, but even if there is, college athletics is facing a huge economic downturn.
Hell, colleges and universities in general are facing a huge economic crisis.
Think about it: If universities aren’t open; university enrollment nationwide will take a monumental hit in the coming months. Not only that, but tens of thousands of students across the nation will be asking for room and board refunds, which will cost every major university mega-millions. And, by the way, did you know many of these billion-dollar university endowments are invested in the plunging stock market?
As for college athletics, even if there is a football season, the pockets of those wealthy donors won’t be nearly as deep, booster contributions will be way down and, with less disposable income, fans simply aren’t going to flock into stadiums like they once did. If there’s a season, those 100,000-seat stadiums might only have 50,000 fans in them, which means concessions, parking and sales of $60 hoodies with university logos will be cut in half.
But before college ADs start slashing salaries, laying off cafeteria workers and cutting non-revenue sports, the first thing that needs to happen is these big-name, big-money coaches need to take one for the team.
Iowa State tried getting ahead of the economic downturn earlier this week when it announced a one-year reduction in salary to coaches and staff that would save $3 million and another one-year suspension of coaching bonuses that will reportedly save another $1 million. Why? Because AD Jamie Pollard said Iowa State athletics is confronted with a $5 million shortfall alone from the cancellation of the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.
Iowa State has the right idea, but wouldn’t it send and even bigger, brighter message if Saban or Swinney or Coach K stood up and said, “These are tough and trying times and I want to do my part to help. I’m here today to tell you that I am giving up my entire salary for the upcoming season to keep the volleyball team from getting axed and to save the jobs of Sue down in marketing, Al in the ticket office, Betty the receptionist, Danielle in video services and Earl the part-time janitor.”
If the Texas Roadhouse CEO can give up his salary to save jobs, then why not a college football or basketball CEO? No, they aren’t required to do it, but it sure would lift morale among those beleaguered entry-level employees in the athletics department and the many out-of-work-fans who are looking for something — anything — to feel good about right now.
OK, who wants to be first?
Nick?
Dabo?
Coach K?
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