UW Eliminates 16 Athletic Department Positions Because of Pandemic

Budget shortfall forces Washington to take drastic measures and cut staff.

Left teetering by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent postponement of football games and lost revenue, the University of Washington athletic department on Thursday eliminated 16 more positions in another wave of cost-cutting measures. 

Additionally, 35 other UW staff members were put on temporary furloughs or had their positions reduced in some manner.

Departing employees were left to call colleagues and alumni and tell them their jobs were gone, often ending long associations with the school.

Among those leaving was Trevor Wade, the UW director of men's basketball operations. He'd been with the Husky program for a dozen years after graduating from the school and serving as a team manager, graduate assistant, video director and since 2017 as the operations director for Mike Hopkins' staff when the coach was hired. 

Wade didn't return messages seeking comment, but he's no longer listed on the school's basketball website.  

"Today is an extremely difficult day," UW athletic director Jen Cohen said. "We have remained committed to maintaining all 22 of our programs and to provide a world-class education and athletic experience for our students. In order to fulfill this commitment, we are having to make some challenging personnel decisions that impact longstanding and dedicated members of our department."

Previously, the UW instituted furloughs for 156 athletic-department employees in June. Head coaches accepted 5 percent salary reductions. Football coach Jimmy Lake, Hopkins and Cohen each have given up contractual bonuses for the coming year. 

The school was forced to suspend football, the department's leading source of revenue that largely funds those 22 sports, until 2021 at the direction of the Pac-12, adding to the increasing financial woes. 

No date as been set for Husky football to resume, but it won't happen before January 1, the earliest return date as unanimously decided by league representatives.

"The current pandemic continues to have a major impact on our entire country and we are not immune," Cohen said.

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