An on-going battle for most small college athletics programs involves part-time staffing. Most often it’s coaching positions but can extend to administrative staff as well. The challenge is balancing expectations for the job with the realities of paying a person less than a livable wage, which often requires him or her to supplement income with other jobs.
[NOTE: Changes to FLSA law start December 2016. We hosted a webinar on this topic on our ATHLEDIFY professional development website. Check it out here.]
Several issues come into play in these situations and there are many approaches to dealing with them. Each campus must identify a strategy to justify part-time employees. However, coaching and athletics staff positions are often left out of campus discussions, usually because human resources offices don’t know what to do with them.
Here are a few of the issues to be aware of and suggestions for dealing with part-time coaches.
Big Issues for Small Colleges
- Do coaches support the academic mission of the institution? Athletics directors must be able to articulate the role coaches play not only in the academic mission, but in many cases the practical world of enrollment management.
- The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) define “exempt” and “non-exempt” employees based on job duties, responsibilities and pay. About 10 years ago this issue sent campuses into panic mode because coaches were not considered “exempt” employees. However, in 2009 the Department of Labor issued an interpretation that clearly states coaches are exempt under the “teacher exemption.” [See link below.]
- If your campus is paying head coaches hourly, are they tracking and reporting their hours accurately? Or are they reporting hours to match the pay their are receiving?
- Health Care Reform. Although the recently announced delay in start date to 2014, this issue will cause problems for institutions with part-time coaches. Will more coaches become even more part-time to avoid providing benefits?
“Fair” Labor? FLSA Requirements
Many institutions relieved themselves of paying part-time coaches hourly and tracking hours worked after the 2009 Department of Labor opinion letter was released. [See link below.] The opinion was withdrawn but many campuses still refer to this interpretation as justification for classifying coaches as “exempt.”
Department of Labor 2009 Interpretation Response Regarding Coaches Exemption
[http://www.dol.gov/whd/opinion/FLSA/2009/2009_01_15_10_FLSA.pdf]
What’s Driving the Position?
Why is a position part-time, or full-time? Most likely it’s budget-driven. But the issue must be raised with human resources, the president or athletics’ direct report (usually all three are involved). Consider:
- How is the campus interpreting FLSA? Coaches could not be considered “exempt” (and salaried) unless they were paid $455 per week or $18,660 per year. If a head coach is to be paid $10,000, he/she needs to track hours each week to ensure they remain within FLSA guidelines for non-exempt employees).
- Can a head coach really do the job if allocated only $10,000 worth of “hours” to work? Take your state’s minimum wage to calculate the allotted hours a head coach will have to perform his or her duties. Is it realistic?
- If a head coach is paid hourly, and performs all of the duties and meets expectations and reports a true account of all hours worked, are you meeting the minimum wage law?
Clarifying and Justifying Coaches Duties and Time Requirements
Within this challenge there is a true opportunity to examine positions, clarify expectations and educate campus administrators about need. Too often people think they know what coaches do, but rarely do they include all of the varied aspects of collegiate coaching. And even more rarely do they have a clue about how much time is required. Examine your coaching positions and clarify:
- Student-athlete instruction hours (on-court, in-season and non-traditional weeks)
- Competition hours (including game prep, travel, film review)
- Recruiting hours (based on number of contacts, applications, visits, yield, etc.)
- Student-athlete mentoring (general relationship building, advising, support, etc.)
- Time spent representing the institution (speaking, camps, clinics, community service, etc.)
Taking the time to clarify and quantify coaches’ duties and expectations will enlighten many, including coaches! Here is a link to a simple template you can use to quantify hours. Download here:
[purchase_link id=”1967″ text=”Download Worksheet” style=”button” color=”blue”]
Sources of Funding: Ways to supplement staffing budget
To meet the salary requirements for an exempt employee ($23,660 annually, or $455/week if not a year-round position), consider ways to supplement institutional dollars, including:
- Income from camp or clinic operations
- Donor funds
- Marketing, advertising or sponsorship revenues
Some institutions have successfully leveraged donor funds to secure permanent institutional dollars. A donor(s) agrees to commit support for a position(s) for a period of time (2-3 years) with the understanding and agreement that at the end of that time period the institution will provide resources to maintain the position.
Lowering Expectations
Can you really lower expectations for part-time coaches? What would that mean? Some of the common adjustments include:
- Reducing or eliminating recruiting expectations (problem at enrollment-driving institutions)
- No expectation to participate in staff meetings or other department-wide events
- No expectation for student-athlete mentoring
- Reducing length of employment agreement / contract (to 9 months, or less)
None of these are great solutions to a complex problem, but are places to go when time is limited.
Raise the Issues and Educate
There are no easy answers to this issue. Most small colleges are forced to deal with part-time head coaching positions because of budget realities. Raising the issues with your president and senior administrators is a worthwhile effort and will clarify the role of coaches and the athletics program at your institution.
Follow us on Twitter at @MajeskiMark
Subscribe to our weekly Perspective on Athletics podcast on iTunes.