UL athletics cuts 25% of staff as university works to close budget gap: ‘We’re all in this together’
UL Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Dr. Bryan Maggard address the local media about the firing of UL head basketball coach Bob Marlin on Friday.
STAFF PHOTO BY BRAD KEMP
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s athletic department is facing one of its most challenging financial years in recent memory. Staffing and programs have been reduced as the university works to close a broader budget gap.
Athletic Director Bryan Maggard said the department began trimming expenses early, even before campus directives were issued.
“We are all in this together,” Maggard said. “We absolutely know we’re one team, as a university, and we’re working very hard to try to meet our financial goals.”
Budget cuts and staff reductions
The department’s reductions come amid a university-wide financial crisis. Interim President Ramesh Kolluru told faculty and staff last fall that the university had cut millions from a $50 million total deficit through spending freezes, position eliminations, and contract cancellations. Departments were then asked to reduce spending by 10% to help close a remaining $10.5 million gap. Athletics, like other departments, has felt the impact.
“When we were building a reduced budget for this year, we did so without any request from campus back in April,” Maggard said. “We wanted to be proactive in an attempt to see how we could be more efficient financially.”
Athletics initially reduced expenses from $46 million to $42.7 million by leaving vacant positions unfilled and cutting operational budgets. Scholarships, which cost about $9 million annually, were preserved.
The department is currently operating with roughly 25% fewer staff, about 35 positions lost.
“We’ve got people pulling double and sometimes triple duty,” Maggard said. “Our ticketing staff is doing their jobs, plus in-venue marketing, with support from Learfield staff who aren’t even employees of the athletic department. We’re band-aiding all this with the hard work of extremely dedicated staff.”
He added that many fixed costs cannot be reduced, including scholarships, travel, event management, officials, custodial duties, and student-athlete medical and insurance expenses.
The ultimate goal is for the university to end the fiscal year on June 30 with a balanced budget.
“Going into next fall, we cannot operate effectively with the current staff numbers,” Maggard said. “We would certainly be at risk of losing quality people, because our current staffing model is not sustainable long term.”
Those reductions have extended beyond staffing and into student-athlete services.
The department’s expanded nutrition program was scaled back, saving about $800,000.
“That was one of the most painstaking decisions in this process,” Maggard said. “We didn’t backfill any of the nutrition positions and we significantly reduced snacks that we are allowed to provide per NCAA rules.
“Getting the snacks back to the athletes is a high priority, because how they fuel their bodies is critically important to their athletic and overall success.”
Sun Belt comparisons
UL reported a $12.6 million deficit in athletics for the 2024 fiscal year, which mirrors financial challenges across the university. According to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, deficits of this size are not uncommon in Division I athletics; for comparison, the University of Texas reported a $23 million loss in 2025.
The department’s financial strain is also evident when compared to its Sun Belt peers.
In the 2024 fiscal year, UL ranked seventh out of 14 Sun Belt schools in revenue generation without institutional support ($14.6 million) and seventh in total expenses ($46.1 million).
But when it comes to institutional support, UL drops to No. 12 out of 14 at $18.9 million – only better than Southern Miss and UL Monroe.
The gap leaves UL nearly $9 million below the Sun Belt average of $27.7 million in institutional support.
“You can do the quick math, that doesn’t equate to a very high number,” Maggard said.
For the record, James Madison leads the way in that category at $59.9 million, or $41 million more than UL’s $18.9. That huge difference is primarily because of student fees, which Maggard has no expectations will change any time soon in Lafayette.
“We’re working within the university’s overall financial realities,” Maggard said. “Institutional support is limited, and there’s little appetite to add a student athletic fee anytime soon.”
UL’s last student fee was added about 20 years ago, contributing roughly $10 per student per semester to athletics. The Sun Belt’s average in student fees is $13 million. UL’s last reported total was “just under $500 thousand.”
Looking ahead
To help bridge the gap, Maggard said the department is exploring alternative revenue streams, including concerts at Cajun Field and partnerships with other sports organizations.
“We’re starting to hone in on what it might look like to have concerts on Cajun Field,” he said. “We’re also exploring facility lease agreements and public-private partnerships.”
In other words, trying to take full advantage of the new stadium other than just six home games in the fall. He emphasized that the new Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium funding is self-sustaining and does not affect the athletic budget.
“This year has shown that some level of reduction can work if carefully managed,” Maggard said. “We need to continue to find ways, working with campus, to see where additional support can be realized if we want to operate within a balanced budget.”
He also stressed that postseason travel for football, baseball, softball, and other spring sports will remain within NCAA-provided resources.
“And if we get to NCAA postseason play, we’ll absolutely do everything we can to make sure we work within whatever resources we’re provided,” he said.