Washington's budget deficit has been front and center since Cohen took overUniv. of washington
The Univ. of Washington athletic department has made "significant progress" since AD Jen Cohen came on board in '16, with the success of the football team "leading to increased ticket sales and a new fundraising campaign bringing in more donations," according to Christian Caple of THE ATHLETIC. Despite the progress, UW projects about a $4M deficit for the soon-to-be-completed FY '19 -- roughly $128M in revenues and $112M in expenses, with "debt service payments accounting for the shortfall." While that figure is "lower than the original projected deficit" of roughly $8M, there "still is work to do to pull UW into the black on a regular basis." The school’s 10-year, $119M apparel deal with Adidas that begins in July "will help," as the agreement guarantees the school $4.5M in cash in the first year. Cohen acknowledged the budget deficit has been "transparent and visible" since she took over. She said, "I don’t think any of us ever want to run an operation that ever has to worry about deficits, but given where we were before, and given what our future revenues and expenses look like, I think we’re kind of in the best place we can be based on where we are right now as an athletic program" (THEATHELTIC.com, 4/15). Cohen is a finalist for the Sports Business Awards' AD of the Year.
