Washington predicts operating income of $20.47M -- $139.4M in revenues, $118.9M in expenses -- for FY '20GETTY IMAGES
The Univ. of Washington athletic department "isn’t yet profitable, projecting a deficit" of $3.7M for FY '19 (ending June 30), but that deficit will be "fully covered by the department’s reserves, and the shortfall is a little more" than $4M less than what AD Jen Cohen projected three years ago, according to Christian Caple of THE ATHLETIC. The FY '20 budget projections are "more encouraging." With a predicted operating income of $20.47M -- $139.4M in revenues, $118.9M in expenses -- the department "expects it will be able to cover" its annual $14.76M debt service payment for the loan that funded the remodel of Husky Stadium, and spend $4.9M in "maintenance and minor facilities upgrades" while still clearing an $810,000 surplus. A 90% renewal rate for the '19 football season "would be a slight improvement" on the 88% renewal rate UW saw in '18. The current projected figure for new season-ticket sales next season is 4,500; last year, it was 5,570. UW CFO Kate Cullen said that the '19 schedule "should help" because gate revenues "typically increase" by $2M in seasons in which UW hosts both Oregon and Washington State, as it will this fall. Deposits for season tickets for men’s basketball -- the "only other sport that turns a profit" -- already have "eclipsed last season’s total by 400" (THEATHLETIC.com, 5/9).
