Canzano: Empty seats make some noise at Stanford

Budget cuts at Stanford hit the athletic department.

The athletic department at Stanford University didn’t escape the blood-letting going on with the rest of the campus this week.

Roughly 30 athletic department staff members were laid off, a source confirmed on Thursday. Those jobs were among the 363 campus positions eliminated due to a $140 million budget shortfall. The pink slips are being blamed on cuts to federal funding and inflation.

I wonder about a third factor — dwindling attendance.

Stanford’s attendance numbers in football and men’s basketball, the bread and butter sports in most college sports operations, have been anemic in recent years. Fan interest has waned. The impact on revenue is apparent.

“It has become time to pay the piper,” said one athletic department staff member.