PALO ALTO, Calif. — Stanford University has announced it will cut 21 positions in its athletic department because of the economic downturn.

The university has one of the biggest athletic departments in the nation, but said Wednesday that there would be a 13 percent staff reduction coming from administrative and service areas. It will take effect next week.

Last month, Stanford athletic director Bob Bowlsby said he expected layoffs 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 senior administrators would take salary cuts because of the nation's financial crisis.