The University of Hawaii’s Board of Regents has found a way to retire a large financial deficit of the athletic department, a victory for many residents who consider major college sports in Hawaii a necessity.

But more changes are needed to provide UH athletics with more sports- related income, similar to other universities, to give the department a reasonable chance to remain in the black.

The regents approved plans Thursday to retire a $13 million accumulated net deficit and make changes to save approximately $2.8 million yearly.

Regent John Holzman, head of the board’s Task Group of Intercollegiate Athletics, said he expects "there will not be any more deficits," but that is highly optimistic unless further steps are taken.

The plan reduces the athletic department’s staff salary and benefits burden by $1.2 million, and bases athletic scholarships awarded to out-of-state athletes on in-state rates, which are little more than one-third of the cost.

Like other universities, the UH regents count those scholarships as "payments of financial aid," thus as operational expenses, although no money changes hands.

Nationally, athletic scholarship costs rose last year by 8.7 percent and spending on coaching compensation by 9.2 percent, the fifth time in the past six years that operating expenses have exceeded revenues, according to a USA Today analysis.

Athletic departments in only 23 of 228 public schools in NCAA Division I operated in the black last year, and those were all Bowl Championship Series conference members who gained from post-season and TV riches.

In UH’s 12-member Mountain West Conference, athletic departments gain revenue from stadium parking fees where assessed, concession fees and merchandising.

San Diego State, the only other MWC member that doesn’t own the stadium where it plays, received money in each of those categories, but Hawaii receives no such revenue. Instead, UH must put out $80,000 a game for Aloha Stadium.

Unlike other conference members, UH doesn’t receive a dime from proceeds of merchandise sold at games.

UH regents need to review these sources of income that derive specifically from athletic events and teams, and give UH athletics its fair share.

The athletics department collects a $50-per-semester fee from students, totaling $1.6 million annually. At some point — the fee took effect only three years ago — an increase will need to be considered.

Fees collected from students at other MWC member schools can range up to $123 a semester.

It is not surprising, then, that the UH athletic department reported financial losses in all but two fiscal years in the past decade, running up an accumulated net deficit of $11.3 million.

An independent auditor found the department four months ago to be "technically insolvent," borrowing funds from other units of the university.

Manoa Chancellor Tom Apple recently told the campus newspaper, Ka Leo o Hawaii, that the university would "have to look at whether we will continue Division IA athletics" if the department fails to break even in three years.

Such a drastic solution would be unacceptable for those who see UH athletics as "the front porch of the university," introducing UH to a wider audience.

The regents essentially have given the athletic department a new lease on life. However, specific changes are needed to prevent the same economic crisis from recurring in the not-too-distant future.