The best-case scenario for Utah football is playing seven games plus a bowl game to recoup lost revenueGETTY IMAGES
Univ. of Utah AD Mark Harlan said that a department-wide furlough program instituted before the Pac-12 voted to play a fall season "will continue as to not stray from his budgeting plan that is now in motion," according to Josh Newman of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. That budgeting plan was based on a projected deficit of $50-60M in FY '21 without football, but Newman notes each football game Utah plays "means there is broadcast revenue coming into the athletic department." The new best-case scenario is that Utah plays "seven games plus a bowl game, but there is simply no way to determine right now how many games they, not to mention the rest of the Pac-12, will ultimately play" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 9/26).
TV MONEY NOT A GIVEN: In Utah, Dirk Facer notes TV revenue will be "fluid given the unpredictability of COVID-19." And not being permitted to have fans at games is a "big loss." As such, Harlan said that the department will "have to wait and see how much revenue is generated when the dust clears." Harlan: "Obviously we have a chance to have more revenue than, than maybe we would have thought of a few weeks ago. So we’re going to continue to adhere to our budget and into all the policies that we put in place to manage our way through this -- knowing that there could be a light here at the end of the tunnel that will have more revenue that we weren’t necessarily counting on.” Harlan added that Utah’s furlough plan "ranges from two to nine weeks and is already underway" (DESERET NEWS, 9/28).
