B1G costs: How Washington plans to cover projected $30 million cash-flow deficit

In addition to taking loans from the Big Ten and Fox, UW's athletic department will ask the school's board of regents for campus support.

The University of Washington’s athletic department forecasts a cash-flow deficit of nearly $30 million for the next fiscal year. It will ask the school’s board of regents next week to approve a budget that includes loans from three sources — the Big Ten, Fox and the university’s invested funds — to cover its costs.

New athletic director Pat Chun and chief operating officer Erin O’Connell also will seek further campus assistance to help offset operating costs as the school transitions into the Big Ten.

While the department projects record revenue and a relatively modest operating deficit of a little more than $2 million for the 2025 fiscal year (ending June 30, 2025), capital expenditures related to joining the Big Ten — plus the annual debt-service payment on the loans that funded the renovation of Husky Stadium and Husky Ballpark — necessitate external and campus assistance.

The future, meanwhile, is so uncertain that UW isn’t forecasting its budget beyond 2025. That is likely due to the pending House v. NCAA settlement, which, if approved by a judge, could by some estimates create an additional $30 million in costs to power-conference athletic departments beginning in fall 2025.