Are Nation-Wide Sport Cuts Coming?

In a revealing conversation with Kristen Eargle at the 2024 NACDA Convention, Big West Commissioner Dan Butterly shed light on the recent House settlement and its implications for collegiate sports. Butterly expressed surprise and concern over how the settlement unfolded, impacting numerous conferences without prior knowledge.

“Part of it is shock on how we got put into the overall settlement. There are 27 conferences who didn’t learn anything about this settlement until early May and this would be our taxation as part of that,” Butterly remarked. He highlighted the growing financial burden, noting, “Every week that we’ve gotten updates the money continues to increase in terms of what each conference and each institution owes. Now you’re looking at not only the costs of it, but the impact of it.”

The financial strain has led to difficult considerations for athletic departments. Butterly acknowledged the potential need to cut sports programs, a measure no one wants to take but may become unavoidable. “No athletic director, no conference, no institution wants to think about cutting sports or scholarships, but these are real dollars and real world scenarios. Cost of a college education isn’t going down, it continues to go up,” he explained. He pointed out that tuition costs at institutions like Cal State or University of California schools rise by about 6% annually, a significant expense for athletic departments already operating on slim margins.

Butterly’s comments underscore the challenging financial landscape facing collegiate sports and the tough decisions that lie ahead. The full interview provides further insights into the complexities and potential solutions being considered.

Check out the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_04DfY1Mto