“The Farm” Starts Cutting Trees, uh People

Stanford University has announced it will cut 21 positions in its athletic department because of the economic downturn.

The university, which has one of the biggest athletic departments in the nation, said Wednesday that the 13 percent staff reduction would come from administrative and service areas. It would take effect next week.

Last month, Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said he expected reductions to deal with a projected $5 million in lost revenue over the next three years.

Wednesday's announcement didn't mention eliminating teams, which Bowlsby had said would be a last resort. It did say that coaching staffs wouldn't be affected.

In December, Stanford announced that the nation's financial crisis was also forcing senior administrators to take salary cuts.