The root of the problem (from the link:
Rutgers faculty group 'deplores' athletics deficit, calls for independent review of spending
"Prior to the Faculty Council vote, Mark Killingsworth, a Rutgers economics professor and a critic of athletics spending through the years, presented his own study, which showed the athletics department's deficit to b $351.9 million since 2003-04 and $145.8 million since Barchi took office in 2012."
and:
"According the Fiscal Year 2016 report filed to the NCAA, Rutgers spent a record $83.974 million and produced $45.392 in revenue. The $38.582 million shortfall -- which was partly attributed to the cost of transitioning to the Big Ten and severance deals with deposed coaches and officials -- was made up by $27.16 million in support from the university's operating budget and $11.422 million in student fees."
The issue becomes more clear when we see that Rutgers claims of massive income (yet to be seen) will stop the hemmhoraging. Rutgers will receive a full share "in 2021, the Big Ten is expected to distribute between $40 and $50 million to Rutgers and its conference brethren."
However, they are down $38.5MM today. They are receiving, "$11.2 million in 2016-17, $11.6 million in 2017-18, $14.9 million in 2018-19 and $19.3 million in 2019-20." (from
ESPN, Fox to reportedly pay Big Ten $2.64B: What's Rutgers' take?).
Rutgers cannot control spending now and have no proof they can in the future. Additionally, how long will the contributions come in when there is no improvement on the field/court to draw in real revenue (i.e. ticket sales, food/gear, parking, etc.) as opposed to student fees. Recall that they are down $38.5MM, they already receive $11.2MM of the projected $40-50MM, or they actually expect an increase of $28.8-38.8MM. And we know this is projected (hoped for, not realized) money only, while we are comparing future projections against non-inflated current expenses which will continue (and can grow as easily as they may decrease) and are likely to grow unless a true winning program across the board is produced, while they are continuing plans of expansion and development (again, not truly addressed in the simplified financial presentation by the AD.