Priceless moments for WSU athletics were enjoyed by many this past year, including a Sun Bowl victory that put a bow on one of the most successful Cougar football seasons in recent history — but if you have to put a price on it, that price would be about $13 million.

$13 million is the deficit reported by the WSU athletic department for the 2015 fiscal year.

Though this number initially seems out of control, it must be understood that the WSU athletic department is and has been going through a transition. For now, it can be justified. But looking forward, something must be done to balance the budget.

Inevitably, this number stirs up an array of emotions.

For non-sports fans, it may be viewed as outrageous and in need of immediate reconsideration of where funds are being allocated.

For those on the other end of the spectrum — Cougar athletics fanatics — this number is perfectly justifiable just so the performance on the field, court or diamond matches suit.

For everyone else, there is certainly a call for concern, but there is an understanding that many times, it takes money to make money.

According to an article published by The Seattle Times on March 15, the deficit actually fell from last year’s number by almost half a million dollars. Additionally, WSU athletic director Bill Moos noted WSU has the second-lowest expense budget in the Pac-12.

Since taking over in 2010, most fans of WSU athletics would argue that Moos has done a fine job of taking many of the broken sports programs and aiding them back to life. This has, however, certainly come at a cost.

The hiring of football coach Mike Leach in 2011 struck a chord with many as he became the highest-paid coach in the school’s history as well as one of the highest-paid public state employees.

According to an article published by The Spokesman-Review on March 15, “the Cougar Athletic Fund has more than 7,000 members for the first time, and Moos is optimistic that the school might set a record in football season ticket sales for the upcoming season.”

Though this optimism may be enough to convince fans and taxpayers for now, if deficits this large continue in the future, the university may have to reconsider both the way this money is spent as well as those in leadership who are in charge of spending it.

The news of this deficit faced by the athletic department and the university comes only days before the hiring of new WSU president Kirk Schulz. This correlation seems almost too perfect to be ignored. As noted by a column published by The Daily Evergreen on March 29, “the Board of Regents understands the thirst for funding Moos and the university as a whole has to quench. I suspect Schulz’s track record in athletic funding helped get him this job.”

If Bill Moos is trying to convince the state of Washington that $13 million is not enough to put winning teams on the field, he may have an uphill battle to fight.

Until WSU begins to bring in what it pays out in terms of athletics, frustrations and backlash must be expected and if nothing continues to change, actions must be taken to ensure a sustainable budget for the university.