Washington State projects debt will reach $67 million this year

[Sultan__of__Swine]

It's amazing how a power 5 football school cannot balance their books with all the money that is coming in from the CFP and Conference television deals. The overspending on facilities and coaches in college sports is out of control. College Presidents and Athletic Directors are out of touch with the real world and setting these kids up for disappointment when they leave their fairyland world. Case in point...the UofL Thornton's Academic Center has a Godiva Chocolate Bar....why does the University need to spend money on that?......I know the answer, it's all about keeping up with your competition.....in other words "A Race to the Bottom".



Washington State projects debt will reach $67 million this year, thanks in part to football and TV deal
By Bryan FischerApr 28, 2018, 1:32 PM EDT

It’s a good thing Mike Leach can go on a diatribe about just about anything to distract you from a looming crisis that is hitting his school’s athletic department.

The Spokesman-Review confirmed the Cougars are projecting athletics debt will reach $67 million by the end of this fiscal year, the result of six straight years of budget deficits under the tenure of former athletics director Bill Moos (now Nebraska’s AD). Needless to say, that is a lot to be in the red by.

Per the Spokesman-Review:

Excessive spending in athletics can largely be traced to Moos’ goal to keep WSU relevant in the Pac-12’s facilities race. The school spent $61 million on its new football operations building, which was completed in 2014, and WSU’s earnings from a television deal with the Pac-12 Networks fell short of initial projections, adding to the debt. WSU still hopes to construct an indoor practice facility for its football team as well as a baseball clubhouse, but the school has stated it plans to lean on private donations and gifts to subsidize both of those projects.

Projections originally done by the former administration didn’t project the department to turn a surplus until at least 2020 and even then, it could just be a modest six-figure sum in the black at that. While the decisions that led to this debt were far above his pay grade, it should be noted that Leach did receive a contract extension and raise this offseason after flirtations with Tennessee last year.

Either way, not the best of news on the Palouse and quite the challenge to tackle for new AD Pat Chun going forward.

 

[Capt Tony]

You lost me. Is this article about UofL, or WSU, because you commented on UofL, who has a balanced athletic budget, but then linked an article about WSU being $67M in the red? Are you trying to compare the two, because if you are, I don't think you succeeded. Not even close.

 

[Sultan__of__Swine]

My point is that the excesses in college athletics (such as a slide in a building (Clemson) or Godiva chocolate bar at UofL) are examples/reasons why athletic departments are burning up money. UofL was responsible, having fundraised/paid for their expenditures, but that doesn't mean those expenditures were not excessive/unneeded.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see a Group of 5 school being $60+ million in debt, but to see a P5 school in this position is pretty sad.

 

[wilkie01]

What is the debt? Is it a negative cash balance or a bond issue/ term loans? There is a big difference. Also, what is the debt amortization schedule and how long is it? There is a lot to consider here before making a knee jerking conclusion.

 

[gocds]

SOS I believe you’d bitch about the hangman using “new rope” to hang your ass because the new rope was going to hurt your neck. Perhaps you should tell ALL of us how WSU is like UofL. Otherwse, I don’t give a big rat’s ass. WSU has their own problems and we have ours. Maybe you just like seeing your monkier in print.

GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless America!!!

 

[gocards1987]

My point is that the excesses in college athletics (such as a slide in a building (Clemson) or Godiva chocolate bar at UofL) are examples/reasons why athletic departments are burning up money. UofL was responsible, having fundraised/paid for their expenditures, but that doesn't mean those expenditures were not excessive/unneeded.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see a Group of 5 school being $60+ million in debt, but to see a P5 school in this position is pretty sad.

I'm willing to bet that things to lure players like Clemson's slide are a very small part of the reason why WSU is 60 million in the red. You have to spend to lure players who win and make a lot more money for the school than they cost. Its everyone's favorite pastime to blame the millennials but they aren't the ones getting rich from college athletics.

 

[Sultan__of__Swine]

My point is that the excesses in college athletics (such as a slide in a building (Clemson) or Godiva chocolate bar at UofL) are examples/reasons why athletic departments are burning up money. UofL was responsible, having fundraised/paid for their expenditures, but that doesn't mean those expenditures were not excessive/unneeded.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see a Group of 5 school being $60+ million in debt, but to see a P5 school in this position is pretty sad.

I'm willing to bet that things to lure players like Clemson's slide are a very small part of the reason why WSU is 60 million in the red. You have to spend to lure players who win and make a lot more money for the school than they cost. Its everyone's favorite pastime to blame the millennials but they aren't the ones getting rich from college athletics.

Exactly that’s my point but the fanbases and alumni will sit back and keep forking over the money to fuel the ridiculous college athletics arms race. Until one day when they can’t raise tickets any higher and the tv deals level out or begin to decrease. Look at Comcast (northeast) just dropped the B1G Ten Network.

 

[Thecycle27]

It is a relevant topic because Louisville is having its own struggles, not nearly as bad as WSU, but still have to feed the monster. It think college sports in general have peaked, viewership both in person and TV will continue to decline. Universities are going to have to adjust to lower or stablizing revenues. Louisville football has had poorly attended games before, but last year was a really bad attendance wise with a player that was about as fun too watch as anyone in the history of the school. Basketball people did show up last year so we will see if this year they come back. Attendance is a real concern across the country.

Who knows where TV viewership will ultimately go, but it is trending down. It will be interesting to see how sponsors react.

Definitely challenging times in the college athletics but the Louisville is still in good shape.

 

[beantowncard]

Makes you appreciate TJ, who built far more than WSU without a major conference revenue stream (for most of his tenure) and did it with solid financial planning and manageable debt load. I hope VT has noted this and learned something.

 

[Knucklehank1]

SOS I believe you’d bitch about the hangman using “new rope” to hang your ass because the new rope was going to hurt your neck. Perhaps you should tell ALL of us how WSU is like UofL. Otherwse, I don’t give a big rat’s ass. WSU has their own problems and we have ours. Maybe you just like seeing your monkier in print.

GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless America!!!

Geez gocards...he isn’t dissing UofL. The arms race of college sports seems like a reasonable off season discussion.

I’m curious when state governments will reign in the long-term guaranteed contracts of coaches. I think the liability these state universities are taking on without real regard of the risk, is a space that may get attention.

 

[fredburgcard]

I wonder if it has something to do with all of the WSU flags at every game day? It must cost a fortune to send people to wave those flags at games on the east coast.

 

[Capt Tony]

It is a relevant topic because Louisville is having its own struggles, not nearly as bad as WSU, but still have to feed the monster. It think college sports in general have peaked, viewership both in person and TV will continue to decline. Universities are going to have to adjust to lower or stablizing revenues. Louisville football has had poorly attended games before, but last year was a really bad attendance wise with a player that was about as fun too watch as anyone in the history of the school. Basketball people did show up last year so we will see if this year they come back. Attendance is a real concern across the country.

Who knows where TV viewership will ultimately go, but it is trending down. It will be interesting to see how sponsors react.

Definitely challenging times in the college athletics but the Louisville is still in good shape.

Louisville's "struggles" have nothing to do with sports and everything to do with it's leadership, or lack there of. And attendance does not affect the bottom line, because all of the tickets are sold, whether the fans show up or not.

And for those looking for the arms race trend to end soon, I wouldn't hold your breath. Look no further than the contract that Georgia is about to throw at Kirby Smart today. Presidents aren't going to reign this in because they know the benefits of the exposure given to their universities (unlike some fools here locally).

 

[gocds]

Geez gocards...he isn’t dissing UofL. The arms race of college sports seems like a reasonable off season discussion.

I’m curious when state governments will reign in the long-term guaranteed contracts of coaches. I think the liability these state universities are taking on without real regard of the risk, is a space that may get attention.

Of course he is. SOS does the “dissing” thing every chance he gets. Don’t hold your breathe on state government handling coaches contracts. How would uahkay get ANY coach? Did you forget about that little tidbit?

GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless America!!!

 

[Knucklehank1]

Of course he is. SOS does the “dissing” thing every chance he gets. Don’t hold your breathe on state government handling coaches contracts. How would uahkay get ANY coach? Did you forget about that little tidbit?

GO CARDS - BEAT EVERYBODY!!! God Bless America!!!

We will have to agree to disagree on the dissing UofL part. He’s adding some local context to a bigger issue.

I agree that the state legislators are littered with fanboys that don’t want to affect their team. However it is amazing that states can continue complain about budgets and underfunded liabilities but then allow a state institution to create a huge liability that doesn’t have a ton of protection. For instance the total value of the Jimbo contract at Texas A&M is around $75M.

 

[Morgantown Card]

WSU is in such financial dire straits that they are going to rename themselves Worshington State.

 

[EasyCard]

I think the large sum spent on college athletics is as American as apple pie. You have ADs willing to gamble their finances with large loans to improve their facilities to attract elite coaches and players to entice fan support. What’s more American then that? People like to spend their hard earned money on their favorite college team and AD’s are willing to take chances to collect that revenue. Ain’t America Grand.

 

[zipp]

The sad reality at U of L is that the athletics department was probably the BEST RUN department/division of the University. THAT's why there was so much money in athletics along with expenditures to boot. And that's "WAS" as in past tense.

Money follows performance. And that is also why there are gaping financial holes in the rest of the University. If people like pig had his way, money earned in athletics (performing) would be diverted to their academic causes (nonperforming) like pig's favorite, Speed School. For the record, I'm a Speed graduate.

The miscalculations IMO that the clown show has made are that (1) they could take control with no adverse effect on alumni and donor support, and (2) that they could "better" allocate money coming into the University. "Better" as in play Robin Hood, take from the rich and give to the poor. And they're having problems doing that as they should. I advise everyone I encounter to STOP funding U of L until the smoke clears.

Universities have problems because of how they're managed and not because of how much money's coming in. My prediction is that U of L's problems are going to get worse...

 

[EasyCard]

The sad reality at U of L is that the athletics department was probably the BEST RUN department/division of the University. THAT's why there was so much money in athletics along with expenditures to boot. And that's "WAS" as in past tense.

Money follows performance. And that is also why there are gaping financial holes in the rest of the University. If people like pig had his way, money earned in athletics (performing) would be diverted to their academic causes (nonperforming) like pig's favorite, Speed School. For the record, I'm a Speed graduate.

The miscalculations IMO that the clown show has made are that (1) they could take control with no adverse effect on alumni and donor support, and (2) that they could "better" allocate money coming into the University. "Better" as in play Robin Hood, take from the rich and give to the poor. And they're having problems doing that as they should. I advise everyone I encounter to STOP funding U of L until the smoke clears.

Universities have problems because of how they're managed and not because of how much money's coming in. My prediction is that U of L's problems are going to get worse...

Sad part still is the tremendous growth of athletics was done during a period of national economic stagnation. Would have been nice to see Jurich’s performance with the up coming economy.

 

[mwatson61]

Exactly that’s my point but the fanbases and alumni will sit back and keep forking over the money to fuel the ridiculous college athletics arms race. Until one day when they can’t raise tickets any higher and the tv deals level out or begin to decrease. Look at Comcast (northeast) just dropped the B1G Ten Network.

Because they realized Rutgirls is a joke.

 

[beantowncard]

Louisville's "struggles" have nothing to do with sports and everything to do with it's leadership, or lack there of. And attendance does not affect the bottom line, because all of the tickets are sold, whether the fans show up or not.

And for those looking for the arms race trend to end soon, I wouldn't hold your breath. Look no further than the contract that Georgia is about to throw at Kirby Smart today. Presidents aren't going to reign this in because they know the benefits of the exposure given to their universities (unlike some fools here locally).

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Heck Todd Grantham is getting HUGE money at Florida as an assistant.