[WilliamTheIrish]

It looks to me like UC Berkeley is in for a rough ride. Those stadium renovations did nothing for them financially.

The university had to take on $230m of the Cal athletics debt back in 2018.

The first involves hiring Collegiate Sports Associates, or CSA, a sports consulting and search firm, to assist Cal Athletics with cutting costs and generating revenue. Led by Bradley Bates, CSA vice president of consulting and former Boston College athletic director, the firm’s services will cost the campus $75,000 plus expenses — costs that will be covered by private donors.

Marts & Lundy, a philanthropy consultant, will review Cal’s fundraising as the second part of this plan. The third and final step is a peer review group composed of two current or former athletic directors, a fundraiser, a financial specialist and a Title IX expert.

Despite the steps, UC Berkeley and the athletic department may need a century to pay off the debt. The annual payments will be $18 million per year until 2032 before leaping to $26 million per year. The peak will arrive in 2039 at $37 million per year, and Cal’s loan extends to 2112, according to Bloomberg.

“The easy thing to do is to let athletics proceed with a budget that looks like there’s a minimal investment from the campus, run this continuing deficit and then have a bailout at the end of the year,” Christ said.

They’re kinda ****ed.