With the coronavirus pandemic forcing everything into a holding pattern, not everything can wait.
Springfield News-Leader reporter Wyatt Wheeler reports that Missouri State is planning their athletic department’s budget for the 2020 season as if they will not play the Sooners to open the 2020 football season.
Per the report, Oklahoma is paying Missouri State $600,000 to make the trip to Norman, Oklahoma for a nonconference game on September 5, the opening Saturday of college football.
Already short of $650,000 due to the cancellation of the NCAA basketball tournament, the Bears are trying their best to fight their way out of an evergrowing hole.
“We certainly hope it’s not a couple million, but every area is going to be affected,” Missouri State Athletic Director, Kyle Moats told Wheeler. “We’re going to look at some pretty significant cuts in those areas in order to make up for it. That’s all we can do. ”
The Bears are hopeful that everything can pan out, but are planning for the worst.
This problem is being faced nationwide as smaller schools at all levels are having budgetary and funding shortfalls with the sudden stoppage of sports. Missouri State’s situation is not an isolated one. Any changes to their situation will have a ricochet effect not just with Oklahoma but with the rest of collegiate sports.
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