UW Huskies AD Pat Chun says state of college sports is ‘not sustainable’

Pat Chun needs just one word to describe the current landscape of college athletics: unsustainable.

Chun, UW’s athletic director, inhabits a world where few rules exist anymore. Where any guidelines that might have enforced regulation can be struck down by an injunction from a local state court. Where politicians make broad allusions about finding a solution without making any laws to bring about order from the rampant chaos.

“This current environment is not sustainable by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.

It’s a sobering take from Chun, one of 10 athletic directors named to the NCAA’s House Settlement Implementation Committee back in March 2025. And while college athletics leadership continues to search for guardrails and rules around student-athlete compensation, Chun’s primary focus remains guiding UW through this turbulent period as he finishes his second year on Montlake.

“Where we go from here is a whole other set of questions that there aren’t any great answers to,” Chun said Tuesday. “But I’m firmly in the camp that what we’re doing right now is not sustainable. Does not put our student-athletes in the best position for success.

“But it’s the system we’re in right now, and we’ve got to manage our way through it.”

On a more local level, Chun’s first two years in Seattle have been relatively successful. Since crossing the Cascades from Pullman in March 2024, he’s overseen UW’s integration into the Big Ten while trying to balance the precarious financial situation he inherited.

Chun’s tenure has been marked by some notable highs. Women’s rowing claimed UW’s first Big Ten championship in May 2025, two weeks before the men’s team won its 21st Intercollegiate Rowing Association national championship. The men’s and women’s track and field teams combined for four individual NCAA championships during the 2024-25 season.

Women’s soccer, with heavy hearts over the tragic death of goalkeeper Mia Hamant, won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships. On Dec. 15, men’s soccer secured its first NCAA title with its thrilling 3-2 overtime win against NC State in the championship game. Women’s basketball achieved its first NCAA Tournament win since 2017 on March 20, and nearly upset No. 3 seed TCU in the second round.

Additionally, Chun’s two coaching hires have generally performed well. Baseball coach Eddie Smith led the Huskies to a fifth-place finish in the Big Ten in 2025 after replacing Jason Kelly. Gymnastics coach Jessa Hansen Parker guided her squad back to the NCAA regionals on March 24, UW’s first postseason appearance since she was hired in July 2024 to succeed Jen Llewellyn.

However, football and men’s basketball, the only two sports that recorded net financial gains during fiscal year 2025, which covers the 2024-25 academic year, haven’t reached the same heights as some of UW’s other athletics programs.

Football reached bowl eligibility during each of its first two seasons under coach Jedd Fisch but hasn’t returned to the College Football Playoff yet, though Chun is optimistic about the upcoming 2026 season.

Men’s basketball improved to a 12th-place finish during coach Danny Sprinkle’s second season. The Huskies haven’t appeared in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament since 2019. Chun said he’s still emphasizing general improvement instead of targeting specific set goals like postseason success entering Fisch and Sprinkle’s third seasons.

“As long as we’re continuing to make progress, that’s really what I focus on,” Chun said. “That really, culturally, sets you forward if you have an environment that’s always improving.”

Off the court, Chun and Washington negotiated a new 12-year multimedia rights deal with Learfield in 2025 and extended their naming rights agreement with Alaska Airlines for Hec Edmundson Pavilion in mid-March. Washington has not announced a new sponsor for Husky Stadium, and is still considering commercial partners for the uniform patches that were approved by the NCAA in January. Chun added UW is still well positioned to provide a top-quality experience for its student-athletes moving forward.

Chun added that the Huskies have enjoyed another strong year of donor support, too, after setting a department record with $52.88 million in contributions collected during FY25. The athletic director said UW football is also on track to reach its season-ticket renewal goals with several months remaining. Chun said UW ideally hopes to keep renewal rates around 95%.

But Chun was also wary about exhausting the philanthropic support UW has leaned on while it tries to sustain itself on the half-share of media rights distributions granted by the Big Ten. He said the Huskies will continue to search for additional revenue streams.

Meanwhile, the athletic department’s total debt rose for the first time since fiscal year 2021 after it took relief loans from the Big Ten and Fox Sports to balance its FY25 budget. UW took similar loans for its current operating budget, meaning the department’s total athletics-related debt will rise again when fiscal year 2026 is made publicly available.

Chun’s immediate worries, however, revolve around the implementation of revenue sharing and the rules – or lack thereof – surrounding it.

“There’s really no rules and regulations,” he said. “We’ve tried to do it through this House settlement. It’s been a very, very bumpy road to date. The hope and belief is time will settle that one way or another. This is either going to break up again and we’ll start all over, or the system will start binding firmer to some of the things we’ve all agreed upon.

“Regardless of where it ends up, we’ve just got to make sure Washington continues to be committed to being the best version of Washington we can be.”

Washington got an up-close look at the new world of college athletics in January, when UW quarterback Demond Williams Jr. attempted to enter the transfer portal despite signing a name, image and likeness (NIL) licensing agreement with the Huskies days earlier. Williams eventually returned to the team after a whirlwind 48 hours, but Chun said it was an example of how quickly the athletic department has been forced to adapt to the challenges the new landscape presents.

“We’ll evaluate everything because our world shifts,” Chun said. “It’s the old adage, the goal posts constantly move on us. And there’s nothing stopping our goal posts from moving. So until there’s stability, the ability to do long-term planning is impaired.”

Chun doesn’t have an immediate solution to a complex problem. He was extremely pessimistic about potential congressional assistance. Chun said the main thing the federal government can do to help is grant the NCAA an antitrust exemption like the one given to MLB in 1922. Something he does not believe will happen.

One other notable option is collective player bargaining. Similar to how professional sports leagues negotiate enforceable rules with their athletes.

Chun said collective bargaining could come about very quickly once an antitrust exemption is officially ruled out by Congress. He noted a potential super league of college programs is unlikely because of the same antitrust issues currently plaguing the NCAA. So at the end of the day, Chun said UW and the Big Ten will do whatever they deem best for their specific situation.

“Really, the only opportunity we have to work through something is through the Big Ten,” Chun said. “What that looks like is a very complicated solution.”