Gate revenue from football and basketball, along with private contributions, has exceeded our expenses. We manage our money well, and it paid off. Despite the significant startup costs in scholarships, coaches' salaries and equipment, no cuts were made in men's sports. But what the NCAA cares about is number of athletes. And in this case football, the golden goose for the UW and every other collegiate athletic program, is also a bugaboo.
Football teams are huge.
The UW had 126 players on its football team last year, and there just isn't a women's sport with those kinds of numbers. The UW women's crew team, which has 84 athletes, is the closest. Athletic directors nationwide, struggling to achieve a balance, face a nearly impossible situation because of football. There is almost no way to make up for the 120 players on a football team. You either need sports with high numbers of players, like crew, or you need a lot of sports.