Football Staff Offered Pay Cuts, but Negotiations Ended as Staff and Athletic Director Disagreed on Percentage
STILLWATER -- The release from Oklahoma State athletics on Wednesday of this week showed a department mostly together and united in sacrificing and giving up salary due to the lost revenue that department will have from the COVID-19 pandemic. A report today in The Oklahoman and written by Scott Wright reveals that one group, the Oklahoma State football coaching staff minus head coach Mike Gundy, did not take any salary reductions. The truth is the football assistants offered up substantial reductions, but were told it was not enough.
It is obvious that Oklahoma State athletics will suffer, like all college athletic departments, with only some 16,000 fans attending games this season in 55,509 seat Boone Pickens Stadium. The deficit could reach some $30-40-million.
The release stated that in addition to 10 layoffs, that included a pair of football staff members in Johnny Barr and Mike Groce, and announced cycles of furloughs coming up, that virtually all of the athletic staff accepted salary reductions ranging from 2.5-to-25 percent. Then it stated that 16 of the department’s 25 employees who are under contract agreed to voluntary pay cuts, including Holder and every head coach.
“These cuts were painful and not at all based on performance, Holder said. “They are byproducts of the unfortunate situation in which we find ourselves. I am especially thankful for the coaches that had the protection of a multi-year contract, but still volunteered to participate in the pay reductions.”
Holder, football coach Mike Gundy and men’s basketball coach Mike Boynton each received 25% pay reductions. Gundy’s reduction was based on his previous salary of $5.25 million, from which he had already taken a voluntary cut of $1 million per year in July. He received an additional reduction of $312,500.
While Holder had stated back in July at the time of the Mike Gundy pay cut that the reduction was all Gundy's idea and that it was based on other motives than the potential fiscal strife caused by the pandemic, Gundy told Pokes Report that the pandemic was foremost in his mind in reducing his salary by the $1-million a year.
Sources within the football staff told Pokes Report that they were first approached by athletic director Mike Holder and asked to take a 40 percent salary reduction and, as a group, the coaches said they wouldn't do that. The same source said Holder came back and "demanded" 25 percent plus the bowl bonus each coach receives for team earning a bowl bid. That has become automatic as Oklahoma State has been to 14 consecutive bowl games. It is a months salary and represents 8.3 percent of their annual income.
The coaches countered with 10 percent plus the bowl bonus (18.3 percent). They were told by Holder that was not enough and there was no other negotiation. Head coach Mike Gundy told Pokes Report that he was not a part of the salary discussions.
The coaches are under contracts that don't have a force majeure clause included, so the money could not simply be taken by the athletic department and the University. One member of the staff, cornerbacks coach Tim Duffie, had his contract end and he has received a 20 percent pay reduction. A member of the staff said the football assistants weren't against taken pay reductions, but were just looking for a figure they felt was more fair and in line with what is going on around the Big 12 and the country.
It is reasonable to think that a counter by the athletic department of a flat 20 percent likely would have been accepted by the football staff. If that were the case, that would represent roughly $850,000 reduced from the department pay roll.
Pokes Report has attempted multiple times to speak with Mike Holder or another top member of the athletic department staff and were told the release would be the only comment on the layoffs, furloughs, and reductions.
