For sometime now we've heard University of Hawai'i officials — regents, presidents, chancellors, etc. — talk about what athletics brings to the institution.

Even before the march to the Sugar Bowl, school leaders espoused an athletics-friendly policy.

But putting a price tag on it, at least until now, has been somewhat elusive.

The current fiscal year ends June 30 and how the school prepares to address the projected deficit for the upcoming one will be revealing.

It will say a lot about UH's priorities and its commitment to major college athletics.

The 2007-08 fiscal year will close in the black, we're told, only because of UH's participation in the lucrative Bowl Championship Series. The $2 million-plus payout — after expenses — being the difference between solvency and the kind of continued red ink that has UH riding an accumulated net deficit of $4.4 million.

But 2008-09 is a whole different picture. A bleak one judging from UH projections that, as of a month ago, forecast a $1.7 million deficit based upon anticipated expenses and revenues.

Whittling that down without sacrificing competitiveness has been the biggest challenge facing the 3-month-old administration of athletic director Jim Donovan.

We're told that Donovan and his people have been able to slice the projected deficit to approximately $1.1 million with some belt-tightening and creativity. And that barring any more spikes in gas prices that have dramatically hiked travel costs, they might get projections at — or even slightly under — $1 million when the year begins.

But at some point UH knows there will be some assistance needed for the athletic department. It is just a matter of how much.

To be sure, you'd like to see athletics live within its means as businesses have to do. You'd hope that self-generated revenues would be sufficient so that sports didn't drain a nickel from the rest of the campuses, where needs are considerable. UH's mission is, after all, education.

But UH is not alone standing in red ink. UH President David McClain has often estimated that maybe 20 percent "are able to be completely on their own bottom." USA Today, citing an NCAA study of 119 football-playing major athletic programs, said only 16 percent were self sufficient in fiscal 2006. Moreover, the study said the average athletic department received 26 percent of its operating funds in the form of institutional support.

At UH, annual fiscal year institutional support amounts to about 13 percent, according to figures supplied by the school, mostly in the form of scholarship assistance and maintenance subsidies for facilities that are also used by classes and intramurals.

It shouldn't be too much, then, for the upper campus to help the athletic department through the current crisis as long as it comes with the clear understanding that the checkbook won't be a life preserver for fiscal foolishness.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.