Michigan Staff Cuts New Normal?

Michigan AD Warde Manuel “detailed the department’s plans to rein in its spending and cost-cutting measures to help fund a projected” $27M budget deficit for the 2025-26 academic year.

June 11, 2025

Michigan Plans to Reduce Athletic Staff, Address Budget Deficit Following House Settlement
The Univ. of Michigan athletic department is “planning” a 10% “reduction in staff” following the recent House settlement that will allow schools to pay student-athletes, according to Aaron McMann of MLIVE via SBJ. In a letter to fans, alumni and supporters yesterday, AD Warde Manuel “detailed the department’s plans to rein in its spending and cost-cutting measures to help fund a projected” $27M budget deficit for the 2025-26 academic year.

Michigan “plans to add” 82.1 new scholarships across 19 sports this fall at a cost of “roughly” $6.2M. The university will only host six home football games this fall, down from eight in 2024, representing a $19.1M “year-over-year decline in revenue.” As a result, Michigan has committed to $10M in budget cuts for the coming year and “worked with the school to reduce its allocation of TV revenue from” $8M to $2M.
^{MLIVE via Sports Business Journal}

TNT Sports Draws Big Gains for French Open Finales
TNT Sports’ debut at Roland-Garros wrapped up with one of the best men’s finals over the last decade and the best women’s final since 2016 -- helping drive a 25% year-over-year audience gain for the entire tourney.

TNT/truTV drew 1.76 million viewers for Carlos Alcaraz’s five-set win over Jannik Sinner on Sunday at Roland-Garros (the longest men’s final there on record), marking the best men’s final for the French Open since 2021 (Novak Djokovic over Stefanos Tsitsipas with 1.92 million) and third-best figure over the last decade (all on NBC in prior years).
^{Sports Business Journal}

What WBD’s Divorce Means for Sports Media
SBJ’s Mollie Cahillane reports: “The WBD breakup comes after Comcast/NBCUniversal made its own moves into two separate companies, though that split may be better overall than WBD’s. ‘Comcast is still keeping two of the better assets,’ said [Naveen] Sarma, [S&P Global’s managing director], pointing to NBC’s broadcast network and the Bravo library (which includes the cash-printing ‘Real Housewives’ franchise).

“Where WBD might have a bit of an ‘advantage’ is the global portfolio and sports rights overseas, which is not experiencing the same declines in viewership or cord-cutting as in the U.S.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

Dan Orlovsky and ESPN in Agreement on a New Deal: Sources
The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand writes, “Orlovsky’s new deal is not signed yet, but it has been agreed upon. He will continue to appear on ‘NFL Live,’ the second team on ‘Monday Night Football’ and all of his other daily talk show appearances, where he analyzes the NFL and college.

“Orlovsky had talks to be on CBS’ Big Ten broadcasts in place of the retiring Gary Danielson, but Orlovsky wanted to hear what ESPN would offer, making the timing not right for a decision. CBS ended up moving Charles Davis from the NFL to college after Danielson’s final year in the booth. J.J. Watt is replacing Davis on CBS’ No. 2 NFL broadcast team with Ian Eagle.”
^{The Athletic}

Murray State Is Biggest Financial Underdog in Recent MCWS History
Sportico’s Lev Akabas writes, “The Murray State Racers upset the Duke Blue Devils on Monday in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament to advance to the Men’s College World Series for the first time in school history. It is only the fourth time that a regional No. 4 seed has been one of the final eight teams remaining.

“The Racers’ achievement is even more improbable when viewed through a financial lens. Murray State spent just $858K on baseball in the 2023-24 academic year, according to EADA data … That total ranked 253rd among Division I programs last season and was dwarfed by Duke’s $4.14 million budget, which ranked 36th in the nation.'“
^Sportico

US Open Brings the World’s Best Golfers to Oakmont. LPGA Plays in MichiganMatt Elliott to be named Wendy Hensel's pick as new Hawaii athletic directorMatt Elliott to be named Wendy Hensel's pick as new Hawaii athletic directorMatt Elliott to be named Wendy Hensel's pick as new Hawaii athletic directorMatt Elliott to be named Wendy Hensel's pick as new Hawaii athletic director
This is the 10th time the U.S. Open is being played at Oakmont, the most of any course in the 130-year history of the championship. ... Scottie Scheffler has won three of his last four tournaments heading into the U.S. Open. ... Dustin Johnson won his first major the last time the U.S. Open was held at Oakmont in 2016.
^{Sports Business Journal}

PGA Tour CEO Search Focuses on NFL’s Brian Rolapp
SBJ’s Josh Carpenter and Ben Fischer write, “SBJ previously reported on four candidates that were in the mix for the role, but top NFL executive Brian Rolapp -- an SBJ Forty Under 40 HOFer -- has emerged as the clear favorite, according to sources across both golf and the NFL.

“As many as five sources termed it as likely that Rolapp, the NFL’s chief media and business officer, would end up in the role. Two other sources indicated that an announcement could be coming in the weeks following the U.S. Open.”
^{Sports Business Journal}

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NCAA’s Baker: Will Congress Back $2.8B Settlement With Antitrust Protection?
AP News’ Eddie Pells writes, “The most fundamental change from the settlement is that schools can now directly pay players through revenue-sharing. For that to work, though, Baker and the NCAA have been lobbying for a limited form of antitrust protection that would prevent, for instance, lawsuits challenging the spending cap prescribed by the settlement, which will be $20.5 million in the first year. The Washington Post reported that draft legislation would include room for that sort of protection.”
^{AP News}

Track Is America’s Opportunity Sport. Colleges Need to Save It
Sportico’s Russell Dinkins writes, “Olympic sports in college are in danger. With Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) allowing college athletes to receive endorsement deals and pay via collectives, and a just-approved antitrust settlement that will result in colleges having to pay athletes directly, colleges are already making decisions about which sports to keep and which sports may need to be cut. 

“And while the loss of any Olympic sport is concerning, the loss of track and field programs will be devastating, not only for the development of elite-level athletes, but also because of the sport’s accessibility and racial and socio-economic diversity.”
^Sportico

College Try: U.S. Soccer Takes First Steps to Reboot NCAA Game
Sportico’s Luke Cyphers and Daniel Libit write, “A new, experimental intercollegiate soccer model may be in place as soon as next year, part of a U.S. Soccer Federation plan to ‘integrate the college game more deeply’ into the American player development system.

“In an embargoed news release Tuesday, U.S. Soccer announced the formation of what it calls the NextGen College Soccer Committee, a group consisting of corporate and league executives, team owners and college sports administrators tasked with charting reforms in the college game.”
^Sportico

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