Loss of football, fall sports could cost Huskies ‘up to $70 million.’ Here’s how to help
Washington launched a fundraising campaign on Friday in an attempt to mitigate the financial ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic and a canceled 2020 fall football season.
Just how much lost revenue is UW looking at? In a letter to fans, athletic director Jen Cohen estimated the athletic department could be facing “losses up to $70 million.”
That’s why UW introduced the “Huskies All In” campaign, which asks fans to transition their seat-related gift and/or season ticket payment to a donation that will support 650 athletes in 22 sports.
Fans who already paid for their season tickets have three options.
- Convert the season-ticket purchase into a fully tax-deductible gift to Huskies All In
- Credit the fees to the 2021 season — the default option
- Request a full refund of any previously purchased season tickets or amenities by Sept. 1, 2020
“We definitely need some help,” UW football coach Jimmy Lake said during a teleconference with the media Friday. “Anything that our fans, our donors, our boosters can (do to) help us any shape, any form is much needed. We need you guys now more than ever. We obviously did not see this coming.”
UW previously announced cost-saying measures for FY21, which began July 1. The actions included salary cuts, furloughs and a 15% total reduction in overall operating budget. In total, the cuts should save UW nearly $13 million.
But those measures were designed for a more optimistic fall sports scenario.
Cohen and chief financial officer Kate Cullen gave a presentation to the Board of Regents in May that modeled several possibilities for the financial challenges the university could face in the coming months.
The best-case scenario budget assumed a full fall season, football included, with fans in the stands. Even that prediction assumed an FY21 deficit of nearly $10 million that would drop to approximately $1.6 million with mitigation strategies.
In her letter, Cohen wrote that UW would “continue to implement cost-saving measures.” In 2018-19, the athletic department reported nearly $133.8 million in total revenue with about $84 million stemming from the football program.
UW won’t be the only athletic department facing devastating financial consequences.
According to The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah athletic director Mark Harlan said he’s anticipating the athletic department will lose $50-$60 million on a FY21 operating budget of $91 million. That number, he said, “could be more depending on various different elements.”
Last week, The Mercury News reported that the Pac-12 was planning a loan program that could provide assistance to athletic departments in the event the football season was canceled. The program would cover the loss of revenue for each school if needed and each athletic department could decide whether to participate.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 4:05 PM.
