Kansas State Basketball HC Bruce Weber, Football HC Chris Klieman Take Pay Cuts

Financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic have led to Kansas State men's basketball head coach Bruce Weber and football head coach Chris Klieman agreeing to 13 percent salary decreases for the fiscal year beginning on July 1.

ESPN reported the news Wednesday and provided the following quotes from KSU athletic director Gene Taylor:

"We are in the midst of such a unique time, and I sincerely appreciate our staff and coaches taking this situation in stride and showcasing strong leadership. From revenue streams to competitions, a lot of unknowns remain ahead of us, and this reduction plan will allow us to focus on the needs of our programs and student-athletes. We remain confident that the return to normalcy is ahead of us and appreciate all that our coaches, staff, student-athletes, fans and supporters have done to help us through this unprecedented period."

Per the Associated Press, Weber was set to make $2.8 million in 2020-21. His 13 percent pay cut means a loss of $364,000.

Per Ryan Black of the Mercury, Kleiman was scheduled to earn $2.5 million in base salary for the 2020 season. His 13 percent pay cut will cost him $325,000 in salary.

In addition, ESPN reported that athletic department members making between $100,000 and $150,000 per year will have 5 percent salary reductions. In total, the cuts are expected to save $1.5 million. The Kansas State athletic department has also slashed its operating expenses by 10 percent ($2 million).

College sports programs nationwide are being forced to make difficult decisions, as the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of March Madness and all spring sports.

Texas Tech announced that it would cut nearly $7 million from its budget, and Cincinnati announced its men's soccer program would be disbanded. The University of Bridgeport also laid off most of its athletics staff on a temporary basis.

The near future of college sports remains murky due to the spread of the coronarvirus. According to World Health Organization figures, more than 983,400 cases have been confirmed in the United States, and more than 50,400 people have died.

The daily number of new cases has decreased each day for the past three days, with the 22,541 confirmed cases on April 29 marking the low total for the month.

But the United States is on pace to surpass well over 1 million total cases with a vaccine appearing unlikely in 2020.