Mark Emmert, NCAA Senior Management to Take 20% Pay Cut Amid Coronavirus

NCAA president Mark Emmert and members of senior management will take a pay cut because of the coronavirus pandemic.  

In an official NCAA memo obtained by USA Today's Steve Berkowitz, Emmert and senior NCAA management will take a 20 percent pay cut and association vice presidents will have their pay reduced by 10 percent. 

The NCAA is facing significant revenue decreases for the current fiscal year because of events canceled as a result of the pandemic. 

Per Berkowitz, the NCAA is estimated to lose $475 million in revenue with a $380 million decrease in expenses. 

Those losses, Berkowitz noted, would mark a 42 percent drop in revenue and a 36 percent decline in expenses from the 2019 fiscal year. 

As a result of the anticipated losses, the NCAA announced on March 26 a direct distribution to Division I schools of $225 million in June instead of the planned $600 million.

On March 12, Emmert and the NCAA board of governors unanimously voted to cancel all remaining winter and spring sports championships because of the coronavirus pandemic, including the men's and women's basketball tournaments. 

A majority of the lost revenue comes from the men's basketball tournament, which Investopedia's Tim Parker estimated brought in $933 million in 2019.