That's right. The recipients of a $300M gift are "pausing" a 100-year-old nationally-renowned event in order to save...$350,000.
Athletic Director Travis Goff said the decision was the best option as KU navigates “expense management” due to the House v. NCAA settlement, which requires schools that opt in to fund up to $20.5 million annually in athlete revenue sharing.
“It really is tied most directly to expense management, and just needing to get our legs underneath us in this new chapter with the House settlement,” Goff said.
The pause is expected to save roughly $350,000 in expenses, but Goff emphasized this is not the end of the 102-year-old tradition, rather a short-term decision as the department adjusts to the new financial landscape. It’s also worth noting that over the summer, KU Athletics stepped away from the Rim Rock Farm Classic, the annual high school meet that brought nearly 2,500 athletes to Lawrence last September.
www2.kusports.com
As the Journal-World reported in May, KU Athletics gradually eliminated, via a combination of a hiring freeze, voluntary separations and layoffs, 30 employees from the department, in order to save $3 million. Goff later said during a KU Athletics board meeting in June that over a nine-month period, the department had found ways to reduce its expenses by more than $15 million in total, many of which were not expected to come to fruition until the fiscal year 2026.
Athletic Director Travis Goff said the decision was the best option as KU navigates “expense management” due to the House v. NCAA settlement, which requires schools that opt in to fund up to $20.5 million annually in athlete revenue sharing.
“It really is tied most directly to expense management, and just needing to get our legs underneath us in this new chapter with the House settlement,” Goff said.
The pause is expected to save roughly $350,000 in expenses, but Goff emphasized this is not the end of the 102-year-old tradition, rather a short-term decision as the department adjusts to the new financial landscape. It’s also worth noting that over the summer, KU Athletics stepped away from the Rim Rock Farm Classic, the annual high school meet that brought nearly 2,500 athletes to Lawrence last September.
KU Sports
The Kansas Relays will not take place in the spring of 2026. KU is cutting out the historic track meet this year as part of a broader effort to reduce expenses for the athletic department, athletic director Travis Goff told the Journal-World in an interview on Thursday afternoon. “It really is...
www2.kusports.com
As the Journal-World reported in May, KU Athletics gradually eliminated, via a combination of a hiring freeze, voluntary separations and layoffs, 30 employees from the department, in order to save $3 million. Goff later said during a KU Athletics board meeting in June that over a nine-month period, the department had found ways to reduce its expenses by more than $15 million in total, many of which were not expected to come to fruition until the fiscal year 2026.
