The University of Idaho Center for Volunteerism and Social Action held a Campus Conversation Thursday, focusing on the university’s projected athletics deficit and the Idaho State Board of Education’s (SBOE) decision to cover that debt.
Social Action Coordinator George Wood said the Volunteer Center chose to focus its final discussion event on the athletics issue to answer questions and clear up confusion surrounding the topic.
The event was moderated by Wood and featured a panel consisting of Director of Athletics Rob Spear, Vice President for Finance Brian Foisy and Budget Director Trina Mahoney.
Spear said the projected athletics’ deficit of almost $1 million “had been brewing over the past eight years,” with the department attempting to utilize its reserves to balance their budget, which have now been exhausted. The debt’s extent or occurrence could not have been predicted.
Foisy said the deficit stemmed from various factors, like a decrease in game guaranteed revenues and donations, as well as a lower amount of student fees supporting athletics due to a decline in enrollment. However, overall student enrollment increased by 3.6 percent this year, said UI President Chuck Staben in the fall.
Spear said ideas were presented on how to avoid the current situation, but no formalized plan was decided.
“We are not proud of the way this has escalated to this point … and unfortunately, it’s almost like trying to turn the Titanic — you’re either going to get out of the situation by increasing your revenues or you decrease your expenditures,” Spear said. “It was virtually impossible.”
The deficit ultimately led UI to ask SBOE to temporarily increase its institutional funds for athletics expenditures by $950,000 to help correct the department’s debt over the next year.
Foisy said neither the deficit nor SBOE’s decision will impact students outright.
“I’ll just say right out of the gate — no direct impact on students,” Foisy said. “Nobody’s tuition is going to go up as a result of this, nobody’s fees are going to go up this year or in a future year as a result of this. The institution has a central reserve. It’s not funded by student tuition and fees in any way, shape or form.”
SBOE recently approved tuition and fee increases for the upcoming school year by 3.5 percent, but Foisy said the decision was separate from the SBOE’s waiver increase to aid the athletics’ deficit.
“I love the quality education that we provide here at Idaho, and I think that we need to continue to provide that quality and we are going to have to raise tuition and fees overtime to make sure we ensure that quality,” Spear said.
Olivia Heersink can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @heersinkolivia