COVID-19 Impact

UT Austin athletics kicks off school year with layoffs and salary reductions

Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium at night football Longhorns

The Texas Longhorn football team will see dramatically reduced crowds — and revenue — this fall.

The sports program at the University of Texas at Austin is slashing jobs and salaries in an effort to bounce back from financial woes triggered by the ongoing pandemic.

On September 1, Texas Athletics announced that effective immediately, it’s laying off 35 staff members and permanently eliminating 35 vacant positions. Also, 11 staff members are being temporarily furloughed with benefits.

Furthermore, 25 coaches and administrators volunteered to take pay cuts from September 1 through next August 31, and 273 staff members will be hit with salary reductions from October 16 through next August 31. Based on three salary tiers, pay reductions start at 2.5 percent and go up from there.

Along with the new school year, which began August 26, the university’s 2020-21 budget year kicked off September 1.

UT says these moves will save $13.5 million as the athletics department copes with revenue lost due to canceled or scaled-back sporting events. The university sponsors 20 sports programs.

“These are unprecedented times we are in, and all of us in college athletics are facing unexpected circumstances, a lot of change, and very difficult decisions,” Chris Del Conte, UT’s athletics director, wrote in a university newsletter. “None of it has been easy, and we recognize the impact it’s had on so many and are deeply sorry for that. But we also know it’s our responsibility to position Texas Athletics to remain solvent, steady, and able to perform at the highest level.”

Del Conte says the cutbacks, which came after “many painful and heartbreaking conversations,” will help ensure financial stability for Texas Athletics.

These cost-slashing measures were taken “in large part because, financially, our goal is and always will be to provide first-class opportunities, resources, and support for our student-athletes as they develop and train for excellence in their sports, the classroom, and life,” Del Conte wrote.

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it's a lifestyle

Austin is one of the best places in America to be vegan, report says

The Beer Plant/thebeerplant.com

Vegans have made a large mark on Austin's local culinary scene.

Austin's vegan culinary scene has been steadily expanding over the last year, so much so that the Texas capital now ranks as the No. 6 best city in America for those living a plant-based lifestyle.

Austin moved up three spots in WalletHub's latest annual "Best Cities for Vegans & Vegetarians" study, after previously ranking No. 9 in 2023. The report analyzed 100 U.S. cities based on grocery affordability, vegetarian restaurant diversity, accessibility, and quality, and other vegetarian or vegan lifestyle considerations.

The city had a high affordability ranking with the sixth-lowest cost of groceries for vegetarians out of all 100 cities in the ranking. Laredo (No. 1); Greensboro, North Carolina (No. 2); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (No. 3); San Antonio (No. 4); and Tulsa, Oklahoma (No. 5) were the top five cities with the lowest grocery cost for vegetarians.

Factors that have enhanced Austin's diverse vegan scene throughout the year include a new bakery opening specializing in vegan olive oil cakes, and the addition of non-dairy mozzarella on the menu at all four Home Slice Pizza locations in Texas. But even larger chains are starting to make room at the dining table for vegans and vegetarians, too.

Home Slice vegan pizza It only took 19 years for Home Slice to find the perfect non-dairy cheese. Photo courtesy of Home Slice

"Just look at businesses like McDonald’s and Burger King incorporating Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers into their menus, for example," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo. "With meat prices rising significantly faster than vegetable prices, too, we may see a lot more people taking a foray into a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle in the near future."

Of course, Austin has plenty of legacy restaurants that focus just on vegan and vegetarian food, although they're subject to the same woes that keep other Austin restaurants on a tightrope between continued success and sudden closings. Bouldin Creek Cafe (with vegan and vegetarian versions of the same menu), Zucchini Kill, and the Beer Plant all have at least seven years under their belts; relative newcomers like the entirely plant-based fine dining restaurant Fabrik and sushi spot Nori also keep things fresh.

Gati vegan ice cream Gati, an East Austin shop specializing in vegan ice cream and vegan and gluten-free baking, offers more than 40 rotating flavors, like these seasonal pumpkin spice scoops.Photo courtesy of Gati

Austin was the only Texas city to make it into the top 10. Elsewhere in Texas, the only other cities to make it in the top 30 were Houston (No. 18), San Antonio (No. 20), and Dallas (No. 30).

The top 10 most vegetarian- and vegan-friendly cities in the U.S. are:

No. 1 – Los Angeles, California
No. 2 – Orlando, Florida
No. 3 – Portland, Oregon
No. 4 – San Diego, California
No. 5 – Seattle, Washington
No. 6 – Austin, Texas
No. 7 – San Francisco, California
No. 8 – Miami, Florida
No. 9 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 10 – Tampa, Florida

The full report and its methodology can be found on wallethub.com.

wallethub reports rankings vegan vegetarian austin