Menu
Colleges

Cal Chancellor Announces Plans For School To Assume Portion Of Athletic Department Debt

Cal Chancellor Carol Christ on Thursday said that the school's central campus will "assume a portion of crushing annual debt" from the athletic department related to the Memorial Stadium and training center projects, according to Jon Wilner of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. The move will have "sweeping implications for Cal’s athletic department." Christ also announced that athletics "must balance its budget" by '20. Wilner writes the move is "potentially a game-changer" for the athletic department in matters "ranging from coaching salaries and recruiting budgets to the hiring" of a new AD. As such, it has the "potential to impact the Pac-12." Cal is the conference’s "premier public university, with a huge alumni base and global reach." A fiscally stable and competitive athletic department, specifically the football and men’s basketball programs, would "carry far-reaching benefits." There is "no timetable for the implementation of the debt transfer, nor did Christ reveal the structure." But it "figures to be a significant percentage." It is "simply not possible for athletics to be responsible for the full debt load and balance its budget and maintain its current size (30 sports)." The assumption of debt by the central campus is "viewed by some in the Cal administration as a moral issue: The UC Regents ordered the Bears to retrofit the 95-year-old facility, which sits on the Hayward Fault, because of public safety concerns." While the total debt of $460M "includes the cost of the Simpson training center and upgraded amenities to the stadium," the portion "directly related to seismic improvements is believed to be at least" $230M. The athletic department is "expected to close" FY '17 with a $16M deficit, but that "includes" the $18M in debt service (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 11/3).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2017/11/03/Colleges/Cal.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2017/11/03/Colleges/Cal.aspx

CLOSE