Budgets are complicated, as operating expenses are routinely drowned in numbers and phrases that only an accounting major would understand.
However, junior Zachary Lien took on this challenge with the University of Idaho Athletics budget and discovered the depart- ment is projected to encounter a deficit of nearly $1 million for the 2017 fiscal year.
UI Athletics currently has a $15 million budget. Of that amount, over $8 million is made of subsidies from the state, university and student fees, while only $7 million is from program revenue. The additional $1 million deficit was not accounted for in the budget.
Brian Foisy, UI’s vice president of finance, said many collegiate athletic programs are unprofitable. However, there has been a constant narrative from previous UI administrators perpetuating the idea that Vandal athletic programs make a profit, and these profits are then distributed back to the university.
The narrative is engrained so deeply within the community that 62 percent of surveyed students believe the athletic department represents a profitable endeavor.
So, now the question is, how will athletics make up for this narrative and — more importantly —the deficit?
In February, Foisy brought forth a request to the State Board of Education to increase the cap for institutional support of athletics by $1 million for the next four years. This increase would directly increase subsidies from the university for the department.
During the proposed four-year span, approximately $4 million would be distributed to athletics instead of academic pursuits and infrastructure projects, Lien wrote in his report.
The state board delayed approving the request until its next meeting, which will be held April 19-20 in Moscow.
Two options are currently available for the board. It can either agree to the request and take $4 million over four years from other UI departments or infrastructure projects, or it can deny the request and force the athletic department to fix the deficit within two years. This could result in major cuts — pos- sibly even the loss of some sports programs.
When issues like this come to light, it is easy to begin wondering what else university investors — students, faculty, staff, community members — are being told that may or may not be true. In these cases, it is important for students to strive to under- stand the facts while also urging the institu- tion to be open about misleading narratives.
Athletics are a large part of the college experience. Rallying around sports can help students and community members feel like a part of the Vandal family and community. However, the athletic department can also be transparent and honest when it comes to funding. Students and community members deserve to know what their money is being used for, and whether their donations are actually benefiting students and not just helping the athletic department deal with unexpected budget expenses.
— CW