No spring sports has financial implications on athletic departments

While the lack of spring sports has saved money at most area high schools, the net cost is an incalculable number.

The unprecedented situation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic leaves schools that might have bought new uniforms or equipment for spring sports possibly out that money. No concession stand proceeds coming in for booster clubs.

Most athletic directors say whatever that dollar amount is, it is smaller than what their departments are saving on transportation costs and not hiring workers for events or officials.

But the bottom line comes from the student-athletes these athletic departments work so hard for.

"The true costs are the loss of the athletic experience that our student-athletes, coaches and families will miss," Naperville North athletic director Bob Quinn said. "High school athletics is the greatest bargain for our communities. There are so many learning opportunities and experiences on which you cannot quantify with a dollar amount. I have been in this business a long time and believe this with all that I am."

That's a viewpoint shared by Dundee-Crown AD Steve Gertz.

"Savings are minimal compared to the time and effort our coaches and students have prepared for their spring season," Gertz said.

Only a month ago, Gertz found himself at South Elgin High School on March 2 watching the Chargers' girls basketball team play Lake Park in front of a packed gym in their first supersectional in 17 years.

Ten days after that, Gertz was dealing with a spring unlike any before - to this day still hopeful something can be salvaged.

"Some (expenses) can be recouped and some cannot," Gertz said. "Many of the expenses were planned months if not a year in advance - uniforms, supplies, field maintenance supplies and awards. We do not look at this as a loss. Awards will be handed out as scheduled to our spring athletes. Our hope is to get back to school and participate in sports. We will work hard to reschedule events when the time comes."

Quinn said many of the expenses Naperville North had for the spring season can be used for the 2021 season such as baseballs, volleyballs and scorebooks.

Another cost to consider is coaching salaries.

"The biggest issue that all school districts will have to face is the salary of coaches and supervisors," Quinn said. "If we do not play contests for the rest of the year, will coaches be compensated for work? Certainly, most have completed some of that work, but obvious questions remain. That will be a decision that districts and bargaining units will have to work out."

At Schaumburg, athletic director Marty Manning said he believes teachers in D211 will be paid based on their teacher contracts. He is not sure about coaches who are not teachers in the district.

"That is something that's being discussed at our district office," Manning said.

Manning said the district's maintenance staff handles the purchasing of diamond dry and similar expenses.

Like Quinn, he expects many of the spring purchases the athletic department has made will be used in the future and not end up as a sunken cost.

"The baseballs, softballs, volleyballs that we have purchased for this spring season can just be used next year, which will help us save money on next year's budget," Manning said. "Nearly all of the purchases I make for our athletic programs are hard goods that have a long life-span.

"I do think we are probably saving a lot of money right now because there are expenses such as event workers and officials that we are not paying right now. We also save money by not having to pay for the electronic timing services we use for our track and field invites. I think the bottom line is we are saving quite a bit of money by not having sports take place right now, but that is at the expense of a lifetime of memories for our student-athletes and coaches."

Those memories are why Manning and his colleagues refuse to give up on the spring season.

"I can't even fathom what the student-athletes are going through with the possibility of missing out on an entire season of athletic events," Manning said. "As ADs we have been communicating about finding any way we can give our student-athletes some type of spring season even if that means it has to stretch into the summer. There are a number of logistical issues that we would have to think about and sort through, but we all just feel so terribly for our student-athletes."