Scott Barnes Addresses Beaver Nation

Dear Beaver Nation;

I'd like to take this opportunity to give you an update on Oregon State Athletics as we continue to deal with the COVID-19 crises.

In all my years as an intercollegiate athletics administrator, I have never been more proud of the work that is being done by our coaches and staff to ensure the wellbeing of our student-athletes. I also am amazed by the outpouring we have received from our donors and fans as we navigate these uncertain times. Thank you for reminding me how special Beaver Nation is.

The cancellation of the spring sports schedules and the winter sports postseasons have had a significant financial impact on our department. Our revenue shortfalls are coming from multiple levels including local, Pac-12, and NCAA revenue streams. We are doing everything we can to mitigate these losses without directly impacting our student-athletes. Here are a few significant short term measures we will be implementing immediately:

• Head Football Coach Jonathan Smith, Head Men's Basketball Coach Wayne Tinkle and I will donate 7% of our annual salaries over the next year
• Athletic Executive and other select staff members and all other head coaches will donate up to 5% of their annual salaries based on salary level over the next year  
• We will have a mandated spending freeze for all non-essential items for the remainder of the 2019-20 fiscal year
• Annual Facilities debt will be restructured to reduce 2020 debt service payment
• A selective pause on new hires will be in place until further notice 

Our young men and women have had their lives turned upside down, yet their commitment continued in the classroom where they achieved a cumulative 3.25 for Winter Term. Our academic team has done a phenomenal job with the latest technologies and our student-athletes have adjusted quite well – 35 percent of our nearly 500 student-athletes made the Honor Roll last term.  During this current academic term, where all classes are being taken remotely, we have continued to offer academic support, tutoring, and mentoring through online platforms. We've transitioned many of our student-athlete clubs, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) leadership meetings, and professional development workshops to Zoom conferences.

The Sports Performance staff has spent countless hours producing workout instructional videos for our student-athletes to access online platforms. They have shipped equipment packages, adhering to Pac-12 Conference regulations, to each of our young men and women. We've also sent nutrition guidelines and recipes through our portals from our sports nutritionist.

On a brighter note, the response from Beaver Nation regarding our new head wrestling coach Chris Pendleton has been off the charts. I'm excited to see what he brings to the mat once we return to normalcy. I'm also ecstatic about the rate of renewals for football season tickets for the 2020 season; your commitment is vital to the success of OSU Athletics.

Due to your exceptional generosity, we have many donor-funded facility upgrades that continue to progress, including at our soccer and softball complexes. The Completing Reser Stadium project continues to move forward prudently with the upgrades to the west side.

In closing, we will get through these tough times together. I am grateful and proud of the coaches and leadership staff for stepping up with me and showing their generosity in support of our current departmental situation. We will play games as soon as possible and bring Beaver Nation together again. I'm excited about the fall sports season, particularly with what Coach Smith and his staff are doing to move us forward.

Stay healthy, be safe, and we look forward to seeing you on campus as soon as possible.

Go Beavs!


S. Scott Barnes
Vice President & Director of Athletics
Oregon State University