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Data shows big athletics investments aren't paying off for UA, ASU

The $240 million deficit facing the University of Arizona could lead to cuts in the university’s sports programs.

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.

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Mark Brodie is a co-host of The Show, KJZZ’s locally produced news magazine. Since starting at KJZZ in 2002, Brodie has been a host, reporter and producer, including several years covering the Arizona Legislature, based at the Capitol.