University of Idaho seeks athletic bailout, 7% tuition increase

The University of Idaho Athletics Department has downsized its request for additional funding from a total of $7.79 million by fiscal year 2020 to a one time bail-out of an additional $1 million for the upcoming academic year.

The request will be presented to the Idaho State Board of Education on Thursday. The board is meeting today and Thursday in Moscow.

The athletic department submitted a request to the Idaho State Board of Education in February requesting a higher cap on institutional funding that would help it avoid a projected million-dollar deficit. According to documents from the ISBOE, the department’s deficiency this fiscal year exhausted its reserve fund, and it projected a $1.09 million shortfall in the 2018 fiscal year starting in July.

If accepted, total UI funding for the athletics department would be $1.9 million for FY 2018.

According to documentation provided to the SBOE by UI Athletics, the projected deficit is being driven by a number of factors, including projected declines in guaranteed game revenue, athletic donations and student athletic fee revenue.

The university learned during February’s SBOE meeting that its university-wide budget would increase by 2 percent for the upcoming fiscal year. UI Vice President for Finance Brian Foisy explained the 2 percent increase also benefits athletics, as the department receives a percentage of the university’s budget.

Rep. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise, told the Daily News she hoped the 2 percent budget increase would help relieve the financial strain underfunded universities are forced to place on their students, particularly after the funding losses during the Great Recession.

“With such a dramatic decrease in support from the state, our universities have been forced to increase tuition and burden our students,” she said.

The UI will also request the following fee increases this week:

A technology fee of $40 per full-time student per year – a 31.9 percent increase.

A student activity fee increase of $32.18 per full-time student per year – a 2.9 percent increase.