Playing a 12-game schedule this past football season came back to bite the University of Hawaii athletic department in the wallet.
Because UH was unable to deliver the contracted minimum of seven games to pay-per-view TV partner Spectrum, the school forfeited $400,000, contributing to the $2.3 million-$2.6 million deficit the athletic department said it expects to post for the fiscal year that closes June 30.
The revelation came during athletic director David Matlin’s briefing of the Board of Regents Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics on Friday.
Under terms of the deal with Spectrum, UH was to receive a minimum of $2.44 million as long as it supplied the cable operator with at least seven games for PPV sales.
UH — and the teams it plays here — are permitted to play 13 regular-season games, one above the NCAA ceiling, under the so-called “Hawaii Exemption.”
BALANCING THE CHECKBOOK(UH fiscal year deficit or surplus)
2018 | -$2.3M | -$2.6M*
2017 | -$1.7M
2016 | -$3.3M
2015 | -$4.2M
2014 | -$1.9M
2013 | -$3.3M
2012 | -$2.2M
2011 | +$486,461
2010 | -$1.53M
2009 | -$2.6M
2008 | +$295,243
* Projected as of May 18.
Source: University of Hawaii
But with 12 games — six of which were picked up by other cable entities — UH fell short. Matlin cited the $400,000 as well as a $750,000 rise in fringe benefit costs for department employees as key contributors to a seventh consecutive deficit. Matlin told regents while the $400,000 “hurt,” the wider exposure afforded by appearances on ESPN and CBS Sports “was a positive.”
UH last finished in the black in 2011, when it reported a $486,461 surplus. An NCAA study has shown that only about two dozen of the more than 130 athletic departments competing on the Division I level operate in the black.
Matlin cited revenue from a new multi-media partnership with IMG, termination of H-Zone off-campus outlets in favor of an agreement with the UH Bookstore, a new apparel deal with Under Armour, facility rental to the Los Angeles Clippers and a ticketing agreement with Hawaiian Airlines as initiatives, in addition to a $2.7 million allotment by the legislature for helping to restrain the deficit.
In other news, regents voted unanimously to amend board policy to allow the UH president to approve contracts of five years or more for head coaches. Previously, any deal above three years required board approval.
