Announcement on MSU athletic cuts coming next week

Athletic director Kevin Buisman said an announcement on potential budget cuts for the Minnesota State athletic department will likely be announced in the next few days.
This spring, Buisman said the department, which cut $350,000 through staff reductions or additional fundraising last year, would have about a $90,000 shortfall for the 2010-11 competitive seasons, but the real challenge came for 2011-12, where he expected to be about $350,000 short, a number that might cause the university to eliminate some of its 23 programs.
On Friday, he said that he'll have a proposal to meet those budget problems and pass it on to the higher-ups.
There were plenty of rumors swirling about campus this week. Sources said that the cuts will be more than $400,000, and programs will be eliminated. Gender equity has to be among the main criteria, with Minnesota State offering 46 scholarships for men's and women's sports. Twenty-five of the men's scholarship go to football.
The programs most likely to be cut are the ones that don't have affiliation with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference: women's bowling, men's tennis and men's and women's swimming. But it hardly seems possible that nearly a half-million dollars can be saved by droppoing those four sports.
There will also need to be some staffing cuts.
Buisman said an announcement on the cuts will be made soon so that coaches can figure out how to work within the new parameters.

Some doings at Minnesota State athletics

As mentioned last week, athletic director Kevin Buisman has been required to come up with a plan to cut $250,000 to $350,000 from the budget for an expected shortfall in the 2011-12 competitive seasons, and it likely involves cutting some programs.
As early as this week, he could announce the criteria he will use to determine which programs stay and which ones go. The criteria could include affiliation with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the ability to generate revenue.
Of course, gender equity will be the main concern.

The project to put artificial turf on the Blakeslee Stadium surface is off, and instead, the university will spend $350,000 to improve the grass field's crown and drainage. The condition of the field has been questionable the last two seasons, prompting safety concerns by the athletic department.
Busiman said the plan is to launch a major renovation of Blakeslee Stadium sometime in the next five years.

Freshman quarterback Ray Teachout has been booted from the Minnesota State football program after an arrest May 2.
He was cited for underage consumption, disorderly conduct and fifth-degree assault, all misdemeanors, but football coach Todd Hoffner said that Teachout was no longer a member of the Mavericks' football program. A police report stated that Teachout was involved in a scrap with a university security guard that prompted the arrest.
Teachout, a three-sport standout at West who led the Scarlets to a state football championship in 2008, competed for the backup quarterback position during spring practice, and Hoffner was high on Teachout's future, saying that they needed to come up with creative ideas to take advantage of his athleticism.
It seems to be a drastic move to suspended Teachout indefinitely, but nobody at Minnesota State is talking about the details, citing data-privacy rules.
Regardless, it looks a like a sad ending to a promising career.

Buisman prepares for cuts at Minnesota State

Minnesota State athletic director Kevin Buisman talked this week about the future of Mavericks' athletics, and while fans won't notice much change next season, the 2011-12 competitive year may be different.
Minnesota State faced a $350,000 shortfall in the athletic budget last year, and most of that came from staff, though additional revenue streams offset some of the damage.
For the upcoming season, Buisman said that the challenge will be to raise about $90,000 just to maintain status quo due to increased tuition, fees and room and board.
For 2011-12, Busiman said the deficit will be about $350,000, and that likely means that programs will need to be cut. Minnesota State offers 12 programs for women and 11 for men, and next week, it's possible that Buisman will announce the criteria for which programs might be in trouble.
Gender equity is always a concern, and the university will be offering 46 scholarships for men and 46 for women next year..
To read some of his comments, check out Saturday's print edition.