The reawakening: Pac-12 rebuilds staff, prepares for basketball broadcasts and keeps football options open for Dec. 19
With sports returning on the campuses, the recovery begins in San Francisco.
The Pac-12 office is bringing back 54 of the 79 employees who were notified of furloughs in August, when it appeared there would be no sports competition until early 2021.
The process is unfolding in stages across both the conference and networks divisions.
“I realize furloughing so many teammates and operating without them these last several weeks has been difficult, and we are pleased to be able to welcome them back as we support our athletic departments and Pac-12 student-athletes in returning to play,” commissioner Larry Scott wrote to his staff on Oct. 8. (The full email is below.)
News that the furloughs were ending was first reported by the Oregonian.
Some employees are returning in time for the start of the seven-week football season on Nov. 7, but many are being brought back to focus on basketball, which begins the week of Thanksgiving.
The Pac-12 Networks are expected to broadcast a full load of men’s and women’s games this season — more than 100 for each sport.
In contrast, the Pac-12 Networks won’t show any football games until at least Dec. 19, the day after the conference championship and the last day of the regular season.
(Every game prior to Dec. 19 will be broadcast on ESPN or Fox.)
The format for Week Seven has not been finalized, but there are two options:
— Schedule cross-division matchups based on the final standings. For example, the No. 2 team in the North would play the No. 2 in the South, No. 3 would play No. 3, etc.
— Use the weekend for makeup games if a handful are postponed over the first six weeks.
Regardless of the broadcast schedule for Dec. 19, the Pac-12 Networks are expected to produce a weekly studio show for the linear network and short-form content for the digital platform.
In addition, conference employees who specialize in event management and game operations are needed sooner than later in order to begin preparations for what could be a tricky conference championship on Dec. 18.
The event will be held on campus, not in Las Vegas, and will involve significant operational challenges due to local health guidelines.
“As we are not in a position to bring back all furloughed staff at this time,” Scott wrote on Oct. 8, “we will continue to review our critical business needs, member priorities and the financial outlook, and keep you all updated.
“I have worked with the leadership team and HR to develop this phased return, and managers will be following up today and tomorrow to communicate with currently furloughed staff individually.
“As we are not in a position to bring back all furloughed staff at this time, we will continue to review our critical business needs, member priorities and the financial outlook, and keep you all updated.”
Pac-12 presidents and chancellors voted on Aug. 11 to postpone all competition until early next year.
Two weeks later, facing a massive decline in revenue from the loss of the football season, the conference undertook a major cost-reduction effort, laying off 15 employees and placing dozens on furlough.
The furloughs were scheduled for about three months — into December — because the conference did not expect to return to competition until January.
But the acquisition of rapid-response antigen tests and the lifting of state and local restrictions in California and Oregon allowed the conference to return months earlier than expected.
Now, many employees are returning to work:
— The networks are bringing back 46 of the 66 staffers who were notified they would be placed on furlough.
— The conference side is bringing back eight of the 13.
All told, 68 percent of the total are returning during this phase.
News that Pac-12 employees were returning to work was first reported by the Oregonian.
The status of the 25 employees remaining on furlough will be evaluated toward the end of the calendar year.
The email from Scott to the staff on Oct. 8:
Dear Pac-12 Staff,
Following our universities’ decision to resume Pac-12 sport competitions next month, I am delighted to announce a plan to bring back many of our staff that we furloughed in August. I realize furloughing so many teammates and operating without them these last several weeks has been difficult, and we are pleased to be able to welcome them back as we support our athletic departments and Pac-12 student-athletes in returning to play.
It is important to remember the ongoing very significant financial challenges we face with reduced competition schedules, as well as the uncertainty we face for the entire year. With just over 50% of the normal number of football games to be played this year, a reduced basketball season schedule and no fans in the stands at least through the end of this calendar year, the financial impacts are severe. For that reason, we developed a plan to bring back many furloughed employees in phases based on the needs of upcoming competitions and the critical priorities we agreed to with our membership.
I have worked with the leadership team and HR to develop this phased return, and managers will be following up today and tomorrow to communicate with currently furloughed staff individually. As we are not in a position to bring back all furloughed staff at this time, we will continue to review our critical business needs, member priorities and the financial outlook, and keep you all updated.
Like we faced in August, the decision of which employees to include in each phase was a difficult one. We simply had to develop a plan to deliver the critical functions required in a time frame that aligns with the needs of our membership. Please know that we value all our employees and appreciate the contributions everyone makes to our organization.
More information will be shared in the next couple of days via your department head. In the meantime, please let me or HR know if you have any further questions.
Thanks, and best regards,
Larry
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