WSU has posted athletic operating deficits in each of the last six years, totaling $51.5MGETTY IMAGES
Washington State Univ. anticipates its athletics debt will reach $67M by the end of FY '18, and the school’s board of regents will meet this week "to formulate a plan to reduce the operating deficit," according to Theo Lawson of the Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW. The WSU board of regents on Thursday will also discuss a bill passed by the Washington Legislature "mandating increased transparency and accountability when it comes to athletics budgets." WSU posted "operating deficits in each of the last six years," totaling $51.5M. In '16, WSU President Kirk Schulz and former AD Bill Moos formed a plan to "help the school become solvent" by '20, but the single-year deficit in '18 projects to be well more than the $4.9M anticipated by Schulz and Moos. Excessive spending in athletics can "largely be traced to Moos’ goal to keep WSU relevant in the Pac-12’s facilities race" (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 4/28). In Spokane, Vince Grippi noted it is unclear if former WSU President Elson Floyd told Moos to "not worry about the deficit spending." Grippi: "We don't know if there was a promise to cover it from university coffers. And we will probably never know. But it doesn't matter." Grippi noted times have changed and Schulz is "dealing with a Board of Regents that wants the entire university to be in the black" (Spokane SPOKESMAN-REVIEW, 4/29).
