NCAA to furlough entire staff in Indianapolis for up to two months, per report

The cost cutting continues for the NCAA

The Indianapolis-based staff of the NCAA will reportedly be furloughed for three to eight weeks in what's being described as a cost-cutting move for the organization. This is according to a memo that the Associated Press obtained on Wednesday.

The furlough will affect over 600 employees,and is scheduled to start on Sept. 21. A three-week furlough is mandatory across the board, but the specific length of certain furloughs will be dependent on the seasonal duties of certain employees. Some could see their furlough end after the three weeks, others could see theirs go until the end of January 2021. As the AP report notes, the furloughs will not affect senior executives.

"There decisions are unfortunate but necessary as we continue to identify ways to cut costs across the national office," NCAA president Mark Emmert wrote in the memo, adding that all the measures represent "top of budget cuts in every national office group totaling nearly half our operating budget."

Emmert and other senior management took a 20% pay cut, while vice presidents took a 10% pay cut, according to a USA Today report from earlier this year. The association also cut annual distribution to DI conferences down from an expected $600 million to $225 million.

These furloughs were in response to the loss of revenue from the sports events that were cancelled as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, most notably the men's Division I college basketball tournament. The competition apparently accounts for over half of the NCAA's annual revenue, which was $1.1 billion in 2019.

"We are committed to supporting our member schools and conferences and student-athletes in every way possible, and yet I expect that some of our services to membership may be limited or delayed during this period furloughs," Emmert wrote. "I ask for your patience as we all strive to weather these difficult times together."

In the 2018 calendar year, Emmert made $2.7 million, according to the association's new federal tax return, and even with the 20 percent cut to his salary, he'll still be making over $2 million this year.