EWU Board stands by athletics decision

The Eastern Washington University Board of Trustees is disappointed in the inaccuracies and mischaracterizations shared by Shawn Vestal in his column on Dec. 15, “EWU mulls raiding scholarship fund to pay sports debt.”

Our Board stands by its decision to have Eastern Washington University remain in Division I athletics and compete in the Big Sky Conference. This is a governance decision that falls under our area of responsibility. The Board did not make this decision lightly and members were aware that it would require additional resources when we approved the budget last June. We believe Mr. Vestal’s piece is misleading by portraying the funds managed by the EWU administration to meet its budget as coming from a “scholarship fund” when that money is actually unallocated institutional financial aid. There is a clear difference between the two. The unallocated funds help all students, as they are used to offset discounts or waivers provided to EWU students, including some of our student athletes. Scholarships are solely awarded based on achievement.

The athletics budget process is not in any way tied to academics. Any reductions to academics have been part of a completely separate process initiated several years ago to realign our offerings to meet the needs of our region and students.

We are one, united university and athletics is part of that “one” university. The Board has the responsibility to review the athletics budget closely, which is why we receive a status report at each meeting. During the pandemic, athletics has incurred additional expenses due to COVID testing and the increased cost of travel, all while experiencing lost revenues from limited ticket sales.

This is why the Board of Trustees wants to thank our donors and supporters for their ongoing support and commitment to EWU during this challenging time.

Kim Pearman-Gilman

Board of Trustees Chair on behalf of EWU Board of Trustees