The Univ. of Washington’s Board of Regents have projected the athletics operating budget for FY2027 will have a $16M “negative cash flow,” according to Andy Yamashita of the SEATTLE TIMES. UW’s athletics department has not generated net revenue since FY2023, but its FY2027 budgeted deficit is “an improvement” on the $19M negative cash flow it “projected on its approved operating budget” for FY2026. The FY2027 operating budget estimates UW will generate $190M in total revenue against $206M in expenditures. It expects to make $59M on ticket sales, $54M in conference and NCAA distributions, $21M in sponsorships and $30M in donations and gifts. UW’s projected revenue for FY2027 is a “12.4% increase on its projected revenue” for FY2026, while its forecast expenses for FY2027 are “only a 6.7% increase” from FY2026. The revenue projections “don’t include UW’s renewed naming-rights agreement with Alaska Airlines” for Hec Edmundson Pavilion, which will net around $28M across the next 10 years. The school also “continues to negotiate a new naming-rights agreement for Husky Stadium and is considering partners for commercial uniform patches.” UW will spend $21.3M on revenue sharing with athletes in FY2027. It also expects to spend $70M on “supplies, materials, purchased services and utilities,” a $5M increase from FY2026 but a “substantial decrease” from the $87M it spent in FY2025. The budget “plans to cover the deficit with another loan from the university’s Capital Asset Pool,” another interest-free $10M loan from the Big Ten against UW’s future earnings and using part of a $13M “donor-restricted contribution” received during FY2025 (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/9).
Washington projects $16M athletics deficit in FY2027
