The financial impact of a postponed fall season will be "devastating by any measure," and the Univ. of Washington has "already begun to employ 'deficit mitigation strategies' to stop the ship from sinking altogether," according to Mike Vorel of the SEATTLE TIMES. UW athletics in June announced that it will "implement a 15% reduction in its operating budget (roughly $8.5 million), and a 10% salary reduction for staff (roughly $5 million) in FY21." UW AD Jen Cohen last Thursday acknowledged -- before UW's fall seasons were scrapped -- that there will "still be more to come." Cohen said, “We're still working through it. We took action on the 15% ops cuts and 10% salary cuts, and we'll continue to do even more operational and potential other things in our salaries to save funds." Vorel writes the school "will certainly" be asking fans and donors for their help. UW had "already sold 87.2% of its football season tickets" ($21M) for the '20 season. If a spring season with fan attendance does not happen, UW will "likely ask season ticketholders to allow the athletics department to keep their payment as a gift, or apply it to the 2021 season and beyond as a credit (while obviously also offering complete refunds)." At some point, the school also will "launch a more comprehensive fundraising campaign that Cohen has referred to as 'Huskies All In'" (SEATTLE TIMES, 8/14).
