Boise State University athletics has the green light to go $18 million in the red.
With some reluctance, the State Board of Education approved the deficit spending plan Wednesday afternoon.
Most of the $18 million will go into “revenue sharing” — direct payments to student-athletes. And Boise State will use a variety of budget reserves to cover the $18 million.
“I personally don’t even like the term … deficit in athletics,” Boise State President David Hahn told State Board members. “Boise State is not running a deficit. We are managing our reserves, we are managing our finances. I’m putting that capital where it needs to be for success of all of the missions.”
The $18 million figure is not necessarily unexpected. In August, Boise State Athletic Director Jeramiah Dickey warned the State Board that the cost of revenue sharing — and expenses tied to a move from the Mountain West Conference to a reformed Pac-12 conference — would drive the program into the red.
Wednesday’s meeting brought the budget picture into more focus.
- Boise State is now projecting a $16.9 million deficit for the current budget year, which ends June 30. In August, Dickey pegged this year’s deficit at $14 million to $18 million.
- The university will provide the athletic department $3 million for debt service.
- The athletic department hopes to clear $2 million from special events at Albertsons Stadium. The stadium hosted two nights of the Banana Ball baseball barnstorming tour on July 31 and Aug. 1, and country singer Luke Combs is scheduled to perform at Albertsons Stadium on June 12, at the tail end of the budget year.
- Revenue sharing will increase to about $14.1 million, up from about $10 million. Colleges and universities can spend up to $21.6 million in revenue sharing, and the Boise State payments tie into “overall competitiveness” with rival programs, Dickey told board members.
- One unknown is the revenue Boise State will collect from the new-look Pac-12, now in its inaugural season. In time, Boise State expects to reap increased revenues from its new conference. But for this year, the university is budgeting for flat conference revenues, unchanged from its final season in the Mountain West, said Stacy Pearson, Boise State’s interim CFO.
If the deficit exceeds $18 million, Boise State athletics would have to come back to the State Board for additional spending authority.
The State Board approved the deficit spending plan unanimously, but not without discussion.
Board member Shawn Keough — a former state senator who co-chaired the Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee — said she was “really uncomfortable” with the vote. “I really don’t want to be here in a couple months or another year. Something has to give.”
Board President Kurt Liebich said the deficit spending gives Boise State the flexibility it needs during a time of turmoil in college sports. The Senate has passed a college sports overhaul billbut it is on hold in the House.
“(We’re) giving you all the runway you need to figure it out, and I think you guys deserve that runway because of the sustained success you’ve had for 30 years,” said Liebich, who sits on a gubernatorial working group that has been studying the future of Idaho college athletics.
Board member David Turnbull described Wednesday’s vote in stark terms. “The option is to basically put a bullet in Bronco sports if we don’t give them this runway.”
The State Board is meeting at Lewis-Clark State College through Thursday.
Source: www.idahoednews.org
