By the end of June, when the 2017 fiscal year comes to a close, the University of Washington athletic department expects to have a surplus of about $2,000.
That sum is, in the overall scope of things, mostly immaterial for an athletic department with revenues of $125 million. Having $2,000 in major college athletics is like the average person finding a couple of pennies under the couch cushions.
Consider, though, where UW was just a year ago, when the athletic department was projecting a 2016 deficit of nearly $15 million. To get to what is essentially a break-even point now is a major turnaround for a department that was in “triage mode” with its budget when athletic director Jennifer Cohen stepped into the role 18 months ago.