UNLV is still nearly $27 million in debt, despite a $2.5 million budget surplus last year.
University officials on Thursday told the Board of Regents that they have a plan to tackle the $26.7 million in debt, which in part, relies on non-guaranteed funds from the Mountain West Conference, relating to five schools’ exit fees as they move to the Pac-12 starting in July.
“The reality is that we do anticipate that there will be some monies that will come to the university in relation to the exit fees… once that lawsuit finally reaches a settlement,” UNLV interim president Chris Heavey said. “But it will probably not be sufficient to pay off the full deficit that’s there. We’re looking at institutional support to absorb some of the deficit that accrued.”
When UNLV opted to stay with the Mountain West and not jump ship to the Pac-12, the MWC said it would pay the university between $1.5 million and $1.8 million per year, for six years, from the exit fees that were to be paid by Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State as they leave for the Pac-12. Those fees are now the subject of litigation, with the potential that UNLV sees a lower amount than what was initially promised or no money at all, dependent on the outcome of the case, which could drag out for several years, Heavey said Friday.
Regent Joseph Arrascada, who has been one of the more vocal regents of UNLV athletics’ lingering debt for the past couple of years, said he’s worried about what happens if the university doesn’t receive any money from exit fees.
“My concern for UNLV athletics is what if that money doesn’t materialize,” Arrascada said. “That could be a major issue.”
Heavey reiterated the school’s plan to eliminate half the debt with institutional support and then wait and see how the exit fees lawsuit plays out and figure it out thereafter. If no money is awarded, it would likely rely on discretionary funds UNLV has available that would usually go toward other expenditures, such as the campus.
Arrascada called the school’s plan a pragmatic approach to addressing its debt.
The $26.7 million deficit was accrued over two years, mainly due to a lack of institutional support not aligning with spending, during fiscal years 2023 and 2024, Heavey said.
“We’ve been adding more institutional support, so we’re not actually accruing any additional deficit,” Heavey said. “So we will go back as an institution and probably erase at least half of that deficit with our institutional funds.
Heavey said they are bringing in an outside consultant to help the athletic department ensure its financial plan is more sustainable heading into the future.
UNLV has already began cutting costs where it can, saving on operational expenses, with the school no longer outsourcing maintenance work, such as plumbing and painting to third parties, keeping the work internal.
Some university sports have created regional travel schedules to cut down on the amount of travel the teams are doing
“We minimize our travel costs,” Heavey said. “We don’t have to fly athletes all over the country… Looking at ways we can reduce the ongoing expenditures to make them more aligned with revenue.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
