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Jan. 3—PULLMAN — As Washington State enters a new era, its sports programs playing as affiliate members of other conferences until the new Pac-12 launches next year, the school’s athletics programs are feeling the changes financially.
That’s the word from WSU athletic director Anne McCoy, who said Friday the athletic department is aiming for a total budget of $74 million in 2025, down about $11 million from its 2024 budget of $85 million. To remain competitive in the new Pac-12, McCoy said, the Cougars will need to bump that number back into the $80 million range.
“To feel really good about our competitive future and really being able to compete in the new Pac-12,” McCoy said, “because the schools coming in are only going to continue to invest in their programs more. So I think it’s really important that we evaluate all of our revenue sources to try to get back to that 85 million.”
How can the program do that? The money WSU and Oregon State won in a November 2023 lawsuit with the departing programs, some $255 million, might not be the answer. That money, McCoy said, is going toward Pac-12 Enterprises, the California-based production studio that housed the Pac-12 Network, as well as fees to grab new member schools from the Mountain West: Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State and Fresno State.
WSU is also facing a debt service of about $10 million annually to pay off its debt on the Martin Stadium renovations. The payments are expected to continue through 2039.
The Pac-12 is also on the hook for more than $50 million in fees regarding the scheduling agreement that WSU, OSU and the MWC came to last year to provide football games for the Cougars and Beavers. With Gonzaga in the fold, the conference needs one more football member to hit the required eight and qualify for a spot in the College Football…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wsu-ad-anne-mccoy-dishes-045900028.html
Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Publish date : 2025-01-04 04:59:00
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