The Univ. of Louisville athletics department “expects to run a record deficit” of about $30M -- its fifth negative balance in eight years, according to Holton & Titus of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. That is $18.8M more than its $11.2M deficit in FY26, when it received a one-time transfer of $10M from the university and opened a $25M line of credit to be used over two years. It is projecting $7.2M in funding from the university in FY27 -- compared to $17.3M in FY26. In April, Louisville’s Board of Trustees approved the creation of Cardinal Ventures -- a nonprofit affiliate entity that aims to provide flexibility and faster decision-making capabilities. However, it “may assume over time many of the marketing functions the ULAA currently handles.” Cardinal Ventures is also expected to “help facilitate NIL and revenue-sharing deals with athletes and free the university up to explore new sources of revenue for the athletics department.” Seat revenue from men’s basketball (19%) and football (15%) is “projected to account for 34%” of Louisville Athletics’ FY27 revenue. Another 35% (roughly $52.6M) is “expected to come from the NCAA and the ACC,” which reward postseason success (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 6/18). Louisville-based WDRB-Fox’s Eric Crawford wrote college athletics has “become a business where the solution to losing money is often to spend more of it.” But Louisville AD Josh Heird’s argument is that Louisville is “not being reckless. It is being rational.” Heird: “You have two choices. You can either continue to try to be in the game and play in the game, or you can say we’re not going to” (WDRB.com, 6/18).
Louisville athletics projects record $30M deficit
