FLORIDA, USA — Florida Institute of Technology President Dwayne McCay announced staff reductions and furloughs, including the Florida Tech football team, due to heavy financial responsibilities regarding COVID-19 Tuesday.
The Florida Tech football program, founded in 2011, competes in the Gulf South Conference with Peach State reps, Valdosta State, West Georgia, and Shorter. The Panthers football team was a huge casualty and was eliminated effective immediately. The team fields 120 players and about a dozen staff members.
Georgia native Hunter Giella from the metro Atlanta area is a redshirt freshman with the Panthers, and he said he is shocked and is looking for a new home to play ball.
“This came out of nowhere. I definitely wasn’t expecting this,” Giella explains. “I honestly thought we’d go back to this summer and everything would be normal. I wasn’t expecting anything like this. We’re really close as a team and there’s really no division between us. It’s kind of hard knowing our last time together was spring and there’s nothing we can do about it. I’m just trying to transfer, get some film, and see what I can do.”
Florida Tech has been a regular season opponent for Fort Valley State over recent years, as late as the 2019 campaign.
We reached out to other D2 athletic schools in the area such as Georgia College. All University of Georgia system schools are asked to cut their budgets by 14 percent. Athletic Director Wendell Stanton says cutting programs is a last resort and keeping people through times like these are their top priority.
FACTS NOT FEAR | At 13WMAZ, we’re focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the coronavirus. To see our full coverage, visit our site section here: www.13wmaz.com/Coronavirus.
STAY UPDATED | Click here to subscribe to our Midday Minute newsletter and receive the latest headlines and information in your inbox every day.
Have a news tip? Email news@13wmaz.com, or visit our Facebook page.