Univ. of Washington regents on Thursday "approved a financial-stability plan -- a combination of budget cuts and revenue increases -- to bring the athletic department into fiscal health over three years," after revealing a projected deficit of $14.8M for the athletic department for this year, according to a front-page piece by Katherine Long of the SEATTLE TIMES. The deficit "will be covered by the athletic department’s reserve fund, which has a balance of more than" $30M. But the department is "also projecting budget deficits for" '17 and '19, and the reserve "could dwindle to less than" $10M if new revenue projections are not met. The one-time money that UW received last year for multimedia and other forms of advertising -- which totaled $7M, "roughly the same amount as last year’s deficit -- was associated with a complex deal that involves dollars the university receives for advertising displayed during home games." In effect, the athletic department "opted to take an advance payment on those revenues last year" from the Pac-12 conference. That payment "masked last year’s deficit." Meanwhile, football tickets at Husky Stadium "have fallen short of projections." Last fall, Husky Stadium "drew an average 61,919 fans per game, down from" 64,508 in '14 and 68,769 in '13. The stadium "has not had a sellout since" the '13 Apple Cup. Ticket revenues "across all UW sports brought in" $28.8M in '14; for '16, that figure "has fallen to an estimated" $24.5M (SEATTLE TIMES, 6/10).
