Kansas Relays canceled for 2021. Here’s how much that’s likely to save KU Athletics
Kansas Athletics, as part of cost-cutting measures, has canceled the 2021 Kansas Relays, athletic director Jeff Long announced Wednesday.
It’s the second straight year the event has been called off because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is a difficult, but necessary, decision in the midst of a very trying time for our community and Kansas Athletics,” Long said in a release. “We have to operate in as lean a fashion as possible, while not inhibiting the health, safety and well-being of our student-athletes. There are a lot of logistical details and planning that goes into this event, so delaying the decision any longer would not be beneficial to many individuals’ time and resources.”
Long estimated that KU would save — at a minimum — $300,000 by not hosting the track meet. Long also said it would likely have cost “significantly more” because of potential COVID-19 testing costs.
Before last year, the Kansas Relays had taken place annually since 1923 with only a few exceptions: 1943-45 (World War II) and 1998-99 (Memorial Stadium renovation).
During a KU athletic department board of directors meeting Wednesday, Long also announced Phase II of salary reductions for KU Athletics employees that will run through June 30, 2021. They include:
• a 13% pay cut for top-paid employees, though those with contracts will have to give up this money voluntarily;
• furloughs for those making under $50,000 annually;
• a combination of furloughs and salary reduction for those in the middle range.
The Phase II salary reductions and furloughs are expected to save KU Athletics $3 million.
KU chief financial officer Pat Kaufman also announced changes in KU Athletics’ 2021 fiscal year budget, which began July 1. The original budget — before the COVID-19 pandemic hit — was set for $108 million, with that number now reduced to $94.5 million.
Kaufman said KU Athletics plans on balancing the budget with $89 million in projected revenue to go with $5.5 million of surplus that was carried over from the 2020 fiscal year thanks to travel cancellations and spending cuts.
The Star’s Jesse Newell contributed to this report.
