In the video player: Pat Parris sits down with UA Athletic Director Dave Heeke in December 2023 to discuss Arizona’s move to the Big 12, the future of UA Football and more.
TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) University of Arizona Athletic Director Dave Heeke says there are no plans to eliminate sports and that the department’s hiring freeze will continue, a press release issued Thursday stated.
“All our work to bolster the position of Arizona Athletics as a premier athletics department comes at a cost,” Heeke said in the release. “Like many premier programs across the country, we are facing financial challenges, which we have already begun to address. Please know that we have refrained from commenting publicly on our financial position out of respect for and support of the process outlined by University Leadership and the Arizona Board of Regents. At this point in time, I want to share the key components of our plan which is in alignment with our campus partners and the structure of the University of Arizona’s Financial Action Plan.”
In the release, he says Arizona Athletics has no immediate plans to eliminate sports and that the department will continue the hiring freeze that it instituted in the fall. It also says that budgets have been pared back in areas that do not impact the health and well-being of the athletes and all new major construction projects will be paused after the completion of the William M. “Bill” Clements Golf Center.