Per Keith Sargeant of NJ Advance Media, the athletic department for Rutgers had a record deficit of $78 million for the fiscal year report for the 2024-25 academic year. In total, the program has more than a half billion ($516.9 million) deficit since it joined the Big Ten.
Rutgers hired Keli Zinn as the new athletic director in July. Zinn suggested the Scarlet Knights needed to make gains to stop the situation from spiraling further.
Zinn hopes the last fiscal year will be the worst, and is projecting better numbers for the fiscal years in 2026-2027 and 2027-2028.
Still, Rutgers is expected to spend big-time money in the near future.
Zinn expects 2025-26 spending to exceed $200 million, more than the $193,831,838 in total expenditures for 2024-2025.
“I think what you’ll see a year from now is that’s going to be our worst year looking at a profit and loss scenario,” Zinn said.
“But you’ll see some level of improvement that’s expected in that ‘26-‘27 year and then by ’27-’28, based upon the current projections we have, in some growth categories and opportunities with revenue, I’m hopeful you’ll actually see (the deficit) start to decline.”
Spending in college athletics is only going up. Despite Louisiana governor Jeff Landry saying his state wouldn't be on the hook for another bad head coaching deal, LSU gave Lane Kiffin a seven-year, $91 million contract with an 80 percent buyout.
Schools have a difficult task to weigh their budget for athletics to keep from slipping into irrelevance, which could hurt donations from boosters and enrollment.
Rutgers hired Keli Zinn as the new athletic director in July. Zinn suggested the Scarlet Knights needed to make gains to stop the situation from spiraling further.
Zinn hopes the last fiscal year will be the worst, and is projecting better numbers for the fiscal years in 2026-2027 and 2027-2028.
Still, Rutgers is expected to spend big-time money in the near future.
Zinn expects 2025-26 spending to exceed $200 million, more than the $193,831,838 in total expenditures for 2024-2025.
“I think what you’ll see a year from now is that’s going to be our worst year looking at a profit and loss scenario,” Zinn said.
“But you’ll see some level of improvement that’s expected in that ‘26-‘27 year and then by ’27-’28, based upon the current projections we have, in some growth categories and opportunities with revenue, I’m hopeful you’ll actually see (the deficit) start to decline.”
Spending in college athletics is only going up. Despite Louisiana governor Jeff Landry saying his state wouldn't be on the hook for another bad head coaching deal, LSU gave Lane Kiffin a seven-year, $91 million contract with an 80 percent buyout.
Schools have a difficult task to weigh their budget for athletics to keep from slipping into irrelevance, which could hurt donations from boosters and enrollment.
