Alabama A&M Director of Athletics, Betty Austin, had a nice surprise waiting for her and the Bulldogs at the annual Bulldog Club breakfast, held last week on the A&M campus. The breakfast itself was a gathering of true maroon and white supporters and the coaches and staff from the athletics department, and the fellowship would have been enough as a great way to start the day. However, the members of the Bulldog Club then presented Austin with a donation to the department of $40,000 that club members had raised in support of Alabama A&M Athletics.

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From CBSSports.com wire reports

SHREVEPORT, La. — The Board of Trustees for Centenary College has voted to move the college’s athletic program from Division I to Division III.

Tuesday’s vote to leave the Summit League comes as the school works to stabilize its finances.

Ed Crawford, the board’s acting chairman, says the move is a small part of a larger plan to achieve financial and academic stability.

Centenary will continue to participate in Division I for the next two years in the Summit League while it pursues a new conference affiliation in Division III.

The prospect of Division III membership has been hovering at Centenary for several years, but the economic downturn sped it up. The school’s endowment is down 20 percent and it is seeking $1.5 million in budget cuts.

Tabby Soignier of the (Monroe, La.) News Star files this report on the budget challenges the University of Louisiana-Monroe athletic department faces due to the current economic recession.

ULM athletic director Bobby Staub appreciates operating a budget much like his coaches enjoy their players – lean with little to no waste to get in the way.

When Staub took the position five years ago, he understood the limitations of a mid-major university when it came to finances.

It did not take long after for he and his administration to begin to feel the effects of the economic challenges that started to unravel.

Five years later as the nation floats amid the hardest hits of the recession, it seems that the mid-major universities have found an advantage over other athletic programs.

Read the full story.

Michelle Gardner of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports on the creative steps athletic directors of schools within the California State University system are taking to reduce travel costs.

Cal State San Bernardino athletic director Kevin Hatcher has a dilemma.

His volleyball team planned on traveling to Hawaii in August for four matches to begin the season. However, the uncertain economy and impending state budget cuts have Cal State, and all other institutions, taking a second look at the expenditures throughout their athletic departments.

The Coyotes got a good deal with the host school paying for ground transportation, lodging and one meal a day. Thus, Cal State was responsible for air fare and remaining meals.

In an effort to ease the strain on the school’s athletic budget, the volleyball team is raising funds to offset the costs.

That isn’t the problem.

Read the whole story.

USF’s athletic department has trimmed its budget for the 2009-10 school year by 0.8 percent, with $32.3 million projected to be spent on the school’s 17 teams and support staff.

USF released its new budget Tuesday, and the biggest cuts are in team travel, which is due for an 8 percent cut, and in administrative expenses, with a 19 percent drop in costs related to “supplies/dues/copy/equipment.

Read the full story.

Brent Zwerneman of the Houston Chronicle reports on Texas A&M’s decision to remove 17 positions from the school’s athletic department.

COLLEGE STATION — The Texas A&M athletic department slashed 17 jobs on Thursday in a budget-crunching move.

“The cuts came across the entire spectrum of the department,” Aggies athletic director Bill Byrne said. “This difficult decision came after an exhaustive review of the entire program, and with great reluctance.”

Billy Pickard, set to enter his 45th season with A&M football, declined comment night after a department source said that Pickard had been told to retire as part of the measure. Pickard, 75, the department’s facilities director, had served legendary football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant as a student trainer in the mid-1950s at A&M.

Dave South, longtime “Voice of the Aggies,” also told friends and associates in an email that he’ll focus on his broadcasting duties. South is registered on the A&M Web site as the associate athletic director for sponsorship and broadcasting.

Read the rest.