The University of Michigan Athletic Department has announced that it will be eliminating 21 positions because of the financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The school released a statement on Tuesday.

“The decision to implement staffing reductions was not made lightly and is difficult because of the deep impact on all aspects of our department and especially those who are directly affected,” said UM athletic director Warde Manuel. “We will continue to identify all necessary strategies to mitigate our circumstances, and we will continue to support our dedicated colleagues who have been so greatly affected.”

Recently, Manuel said that the department is facing a $100 million loss in revenue due to the cancellation of the fall football season. Michigan has not been the only school hit by financial burdens during this team, as schools across the B1G have had to make difficult decisions.

“The impact is upwards of almost half our budget,” said Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel on the Congqu’ring Heroes podcast. “We’re still working through some finalized models to exactly figure it out. We hope to have it at some point in September, finalized and sort of nailed down exactly what everything will be.”

Also from Michigan’s statement:

Faced with a potential revenue loss of $100 million, the athletic department will eliminate 21 positions. This latest decision is in addition to a previously announced hiring freeze across the department that has resulted in 15 unfilled positions since early 2020, comprehensive salary freezes, salary reductions ranging between 5 and 10 percent for most employees, and operating and team budget reductions made across the board. The department will also further evaluate temporary furloughs and reductions in hours for staff as additional information about competitions and sports season becomes known.

The B1G was the first Power 5 conference to postpone the fall football season. Six conferences are still moving forward with a fall schedule at the FBS level.