Listen to JazzPHX
Enter to win a book bundle from authors interviewed on Season 10 of the Word podcast.
Data shows big athletics investments aren't paying off for UA, ASU
Download mp3 (11.16 MB)
Austin Ford/Cronkite News
The Arizona Wildcats hoisted the Territorial Cup trophy for the first time in six years after defeating Arizona State 38-35 on Nov. 25, 2022, in Tucson.
The $240 million deficit facing the University of Arizona could lead to cuts in the university’s sports programs.
Scott Hirko
Scott Hirko
President Robert Robbins says a $55 million loan the university made to the athletic department during the pandemic has “not been paid back fast enough,” and that “everything is on the table in terms of dealing with athletics.” That could include cutting certain sports altogether.
To talk more about this and how the university got itself into this situation, The Show spoke with Scott Hirko, an assistant professor of Sport Management at Wayne State University in Detroit, about what he makes of the financial numbers coming out of Tucson, which are in no small part because of the athletic department.
