Jobs cut to stabilize budget, Livengood says

Eighteen Arizona Athletics employees were informed this week they would be laid off, effective June 30, because of the department's need to balance the annual budget.

Jim Livengood, director of Arizona Athletics, said four appointed personnel and 14 classified staff members were dismissed, a decision that will save the department roughly $800,000 to $850,000 when they balance their $32 to $33 million budget for the 2005-2006 fiscal year, which begins July 1.

"There's no other option unless we cut the sports programs," Livengood said. "It's obviously a really tough time, but we have to balance the budget."

The athletics department cannot have a deficit at the beginning of each fiscal year and because it does not receive state finding, the department was forced to eliminate positions, Livengood said.

Arizona Athletics no longer receives the annual $1.2 million from the state since it became a self-generating entity in 2003.

Assistant Director of athletics Steve Kozachik said the department depends on the success of the basketball and football teams, the top two revenue-making sports at the UA.

"If only one team is successful, it causes everyone to suffer," Kozachik said. "The football team hasn't gone to a bowl game in seven years."

Kozachik said the position cuts were a topic of discussion for months and was not an easy decision, especially since he has known some of the laid off employees for 17 years.

"It breaks your heart to see it happen. Everyone's hurting," he said.

Livengood and Kozachik both said the layoffs did not have anything to do with the individuals in those positions.

Kozachik said these individuals have marketable skills and most likely will be employed in another part of campus.

"I suspect these people will land on their feet," Kozachik said. "I've offered to write many of them letters of recommendation."

Cameron Moses, an unpaid intern with Arizona Athletics, said he hoped to land a permanent position after he graduated. After the recent layoffs, Moses is unsure if that will happen.

"I'm a little discouraged," said Moses, a marketing senior. "Maybe there's not as much loyalty as I thought."

Moses said he knows some of the employees who received the bad news Monday, a day that he described as a "dark, dark day."

"It's not something people like to talk about," he said.