Washington State Faces Harsh Financial Reality in Athletics - And the Path Forward Starts with the Fans
Washington State University President Betsy Cantwell isn’t sugarcoating the situation: WSU Athletics is in a financial crunch, and the university won’t be stepping in with more institutional dollars to bail it out. That’s not a matter of preference - it’s a matter of budgetary reality.
For years, WSU benefited from a steady stream of media rights revenue in the old Pac-12. That revenue helped keep the need for university subsidies low, especially when compared to peer programs.
On paper, WSU’s institutional support for athletics sits around $6.6 million annually - a figure that primarily supports women’s sports. But when you stack that up against the $22 million to $28 million other schools in the new-look Pac-12 are reportedly contributing, the gap becomes glaring.
Now that the media rights well has run dry, WSU finds itself in a very different landscape - one where it’s suddenly playing financial catch-up with programs that have long relied on institutional backing. And according to Cantwell, that’s not a gap the university can fill.
“Whether we wanted to or not, we don't have revenue from the center to put into athletics,” Cantwell said in a recent interview.
That’s why she’s been on a mission since November, sounding the alarm across Cougar Nation: WSU needs to generate an additional $20 million annually to keep its athletic programs competitive. That number isn’t arbitrary - it’s the estimated shortfall between where WSU is now and where it needs to be to compete for titles in the new Pac-12 era.
So where’s that $20 million supposed to come from? In the short term, the answer is simple - the fans.
Cantwell is calling on WSU’s 250,000 living alumni, along with supporters and advocates, to step up in three key ways:
- Buy season tickets - Filling seats and boosting game-day revenue is the most direct way to support Cougar athletics.
- Donate to sport-specific excellence funds - These tax-deductible contributions go directly toward revenue-sharing efforts, including WSU’s NIL initiatives.
- Support the CAF scholarship fund - This fund helps cover the cost of athletic scholarships.
Right now, it’s falling short by about $4 million each year.
The message is clear: the future of WSU Athletics depends on the Cougar community rallying together.
Cantwell isn’t just pointing fingers at the past - she’s laying out the full context. WSU has taken a beating in recent years when it comes to state funding.
Over the last four years, the university absorbed $52 million in state cuts, with another $18 million reduction expected this year. On top of that, the drop in media rights revenue from the old Pac-12 to the current setup is projected to cost WSU more than $20 million annually.
And there’s history behind the current predicament. Back in 2010, WSU made the decision to eliminate central funding for athletics, banking on the then-lucrative Pac-12 media deal.
At the time, it was a reasonable bet - no one could’ve predicted the eventual collapse of the conference. But now, with that revenue stream gone, the university finds itself in a bind.
Cantwell emphasized that the current ask from fans and donors isn’t meant to be permanent. The $20 million gap is a bridge - not a new normal.
“It’s going to take us about three years to build new revenue streams that fill that gap without relying on philanthropy,” she said.
That plan includes a partnership with Playfly, a media and marketing company that’s expected to open up new opportunities for revenue generation. But building those streams takes time. As Cantwell put it, “You cannot build them by snapping your finger in Year One.”
She’s confident that by Year Three or Four, the gap will be closed. The university is exploring innovative solutions, and the wheels are already in motion. But until those new revenue sources come online, the only way to keep WSU Athletics competitive is through donor support.
“We have a revenue gap that can only be filled by philanthropy at this point,” she said. “It is not in perpetuity. We're not going to be out there asking for the same thing every year.”
Cantwell also addressed the tricky nature of comparing institutional support across schools. The numbers can vary wildly depending on how each university categorizes its funding - central support, philanthropy, operational expenses, and so on.
“I was the president of Utah State, and know how that was counted. And I know how it’s counted here,” she said. “You really are talking apples to oranges to grapes to lemons.”
What’s clear, though, is that WSU is playing from behind in terms of financial support for its athletic programs. And unless the Cougar community steps up in a big way, that gap will only grow wider.
For now, the path forward is built on belief - belief that fans will show up, that donors will buy in, and that the foundation being built today will carry WSU Athletics into a more stable, competitive future.