Economy, maintenance could force UW's hand
Rich Linde, October 17, 2008

The stadium is disintegrating, the team is in disarray, and the coaching staff is in dismay.

The stadium is crumbling, the team is stumbling, and the coaching staff is bumbling.

Simply put, Washington football sucks -- right now.

About the stadium:  With the economy on the wane, how are UW officials going to convince the State Legislature they need King County tax revenues to help finance the refurbishing of Husky Stadium? That proposal met with mostly deaf years last January. The total cost of revitalizing the decrepit stadium is $300 million, where the current plan calls for half the cost to come from tax money, with the other half coming from private donations. Also, the rebuilding effort coincides with the Sound Transit light rail project, which calls for a large excavation in the south parking lot. The deferred maintenance on Husky Stadium alone is estimated at $100 million over the next ten years.

If fundraising fails or stumbles along, with the transit project portending safety issues over the next five years, the Huskies can always move to Qwest Field. Depending on the status of the two projects, it could be for a short duration, maybe two years, or for an extended period of time or even permanently.

Football is the sugar daddy for most of the athletic department budget, and there is the smaller capacity at Qwest Field and the need to pay rent and split parking and concession revenues. Revenue from luxury suites may offset some of the disparity in money.

AD Scott Woodward says it's more than dollars and cents.

“I'm from Louisiana and I saw what it did to Tulane when they razed their stadium and moved to the Superdome," Woodward has been quoted as saying. "It just eviscerated their program. Maybe with the exception of UCLA -- and you can debate whether that's a successful program or not -- not many people have done well off campus."

I would argue that UCLA has done quite well off campus and presents a model for Woodward to examine more closely.

Woodward is sticking to his guns. Just recently the UW Board of Regents authorized spending $3 million dollars on predevelopment of renovation plans. For more information on the project, click here.

Also, reference this story from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

About the team and coaching staff: The team needs an infusion of war daddies, decleaters and playmakers; it needs a huge upgrade in talent. With Tyrone Willingham’s future being uncertain, recruiting is taking a pounding. Currently, the class ranks eightieth in the country on scout.com.

Should UW fire Willingham now to save the class?

Answer: Not now. He needs a chance to salvage this season, as unlikely as that may seem.

The future of the recruiting class and how it transpires depends on the future of the coaching staff, which, as of now, is up in the air. AD Scott Woodward says he will make a determination about Willingham’s contract at the conclusion of the season. At that time, Willingham will have one year remaining on his five-year deal, the contract calling for a $1 million buyout at that time if it should be terminated.

However, should the Huskies (0-5, 0-3) continue to lose, the pressure exerted by fans, alumni, and boosters on Woodward will intensify, and he may be forced into making an earlier decision about Willingham than he wants, whether he likes it or not.

If Woodward should fire Willingham before the season concludes, recruiting can’t be salvaged unless a new head coach is hired immediately. That could happen if a coach who is currently out on the street is hired, say a Lane Kiffin, who has expressed interest in the Washington job.

Hiring a successful, proven coach away from another school is highly unlikely until the season is over. Jeff Tedford, Chris Peterson, Pat Hill, Dave Christiansen and Will Muschamp all fall into that category. Saving the recruiting class at that time, in late December or January, will be iffy at best.

In my opinion, a new staff or the old one, whichever the case may be, must do a better job of recruiting California and the JC ranks. The University of Oregon and Oregon State University present poignant paradigms.

Hiring a proven coach away from another school, unless he’s an assistant coach, could be quite expensive and economically unfeasible, considering that the stadium remodeling effort is floundering, with maintenance costs running at $100 million over ten years, while the general economy at the state and national levels is on the decline.

Even securing naming rights to the new stadium is affected by the bad economy. Calling it WAMU stadium has gone by the boards, for example. Also, deep pockets could become shallower to pick due to their losses in investments and their prospect of facing higher taxes.

Moving to Qwest Field could be an Ockham ’s Razor applied to a complicated problem.  None of us want to move away from iconic Husky Stadium for an extended period of time or permanently, but UW officials may have no choice in the matter.