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Aug 29, 2023

THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: One way for WSU to solve its budget woes — drop to a lower conference

Steve Cameron.

Washington State in the Mountain West Conference.

Would that be so terrible?

Really?

I know, some of you Wazzu lifers just recoiled and said some nasty words, just hearing the suggestion that the Cougs perhaps ought to be "stepping down" in sports competition.

Yes, I get it.

There's a proud history of success against the bigger and better-funded schools in this part of the country.

The Cougs have punched plenty of big-timers in the nose over the years.

Just the memory of hammering U-Dub in Seattle two years ago — that alone can stir your crimson blood, and make you vow to do it again.

Unfortunately …

It might be time to swallow a dose of realism.

Look, you know what's going on here.

The Cougs athletic department is in deep money trouble, with roughly $75 million in old debt hanging around that has to be paid off sometime, and now we have a current loss of $11.5 million on the latest fiscal year budget of $84.5 million.

The university itself is stepping in to hand over $1.4 million, which is fine — but think about all that red ink.

And …

Will it ever stop?

YES, WE can see some of the reasons that FY22 was a catastrophe.

Each Pac-12 school has to pay back a share of an overpayment by media partner Comcast, something like $4 million per university.

AD Pat Chun made a point — a good one — about mistakes in accounting, which is probably why the athletics financial officer was gone in less than a year.

OK, a blunder.

Maybe a $5 million blunder.

That’ll get fixed, right?

Whichever way you cut this up, though, Washington State cannot reasonably hope to remain in the Pac-12 (assuming the fractured conference even manages to stay together) without fighting this money trouble every year.

Let's say you own a boat, a nice one.

You can take it out for your own peace, or entertain friends like a big dog.

It's terrific.

But what if maintenance and dock fees and assorted other costs pile up to the point where it becomes hard to pay your rent back home?

I’m sorry, but the boat has to go — or you’re on the street.

Jon Wilner, who writes the Pac-12 Hotline and knows the conference as well as anyone, offers facts and figures about WSU that are both complimentary and yet cautionary.

Wilner actually is a statistician by training (a University of Idaho grad), and he's great at parsing out the finances of college athletics.

He recently put together a ranking of Pac-12 schools, showing who got the best bang for its buck — dollars per win in football, men's and women's basketball.

Utah topped the list (with success in all three revenue sports), followed by soon-to-depart USC and by Oregon State — with Wazzu at No. 4.

Wilner's comment: "The Cougars do as much with what they have as anybody in the conference on a regular basis (and far more than most schools).

"Their seventh consecutive bowl berth (excluding 2020) is proof they have just the right model for their resources and geography."

OK, THAT sounds like an endorsement for Washington State to stay the course, pray that the Pac-12 can stitch together a decent media package, and hope that it pays the bills.

In other words, keep on fighting the big boys with their bazookas, and do it on a slingshot budget.

Now, before you call me a curmudgeon for even suggesting the Mountain West, here is something else Wilner wrote …

With the Cougars, two things are equally true:

• They maximize resources as well as any athletic department in the conference. In particular, their success in football (seven consecutive bowl-eligible seasons, excluding 2020) far exceeds what could reasonably be expected given the budget and resources.

• They are forever on the razor's edge financially. The annual operating budget faces a variety of challenges, including the limited number of football ticket sales – since Martin Stadium has a capacity of just 32,952.

TO BE honest, the Cougs are a top-of the-line Mountain West team trying to find some stray dollars to hang around the Pac-12.

Why?

USC and UCLA are taking a hike; there are no natural ties to the Arizona schools; Cal and Stanford have both become more interested in producing Nobel Laureates than running backs — plus, you KNOW Oregon and Washington are hungry for cash and prestige, so they’re dying to leave.

WSU could cut its budget significantly (most Mountain West schools spend $40-45 million annually, with one exception), play teams that are on roughly the same level, and quit sweating over getting a bowl invite just to square the budget.

Look, you could still schedule the Apple Cup and play another Pac-12 school or two.

Oh, I mentioned the one budget exception in the Mountain West.

That would be San Diego State at $58 million, hoping desperately to join the Pac-12.

This is a school with new football stadium it can't come close to filling, and wants a piece of Oregon and Washington on $58 million.

Now THAT is athletics malfeasance.

Sometimes, common sense should win out.

Wazzu would be just fine in the Mountain West, slugging it out with Boise State and Fresno State for the football title — and giving Kyle Smith's improving hoops team a shot at some programs that recruit on the same level.

I know some of you are angry just hearing this suggestion.

Still, please …

Think about it.

Wouldn't it be best to leave the Titanic BEFORE it finds the iceberg?

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron's "Cheap Seats" columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens.

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: "Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On."

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