Washington State athletic department takes measures to make up for overpayments debacle
Washington State president Kirk Schulz announced Monday night that the Cougars’ athletic department will undergo a hiring freeze, amongst other measures, to help make up a significant financial shortfall.
The Pac-12’s revenue distribution is expected to decrease significantly as a result of $50 million in overpayments from one of the Pac-12’s media partners. The overpayments, which dated back to 2016, resulted in the firing of 2 Pac-12 executives earlier this year.
Schulz’s statement also said that Washington State’s athletic department “exceeded its expenditures” for the year due to “inadequate documentation of revenues and expenses.”
Additionally, Schulz said the relocation of the Pac-12’s headquarters exceeded budget projections.
If each Pac-12 program equally shares the brunt of the $50 million in overpayments, that would create a shortfall of more than $4 million for Washington State’s athletic department over the next year. It’s unclear how much the other factors will impact Washington State’s budget moving forward.
Washington State has also paused non-essential travel, purchases & new professional development for its athletic department as it conducts a financial review.