Danny Sprinkle Addresses Washington Huskies Payroll Situation

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies men's basketball team was tasked with replacing three-fifths of the roster this offseason. And it had much more limited resources to do so than previous years under head coach Danny Sprinkle.

It was reported by CBS Sports earlier this week that the Huskies were among the lowest spenders among Power Four men's basketball programs ($5-7 million) and the lowest spender in the Big Ten.

"There's some factors that limit us," UW head coach Danny Sprinkle said in a news conference Tuesday at Alaska Airlines Arena. "But, I said it last year, Illinois doesn't care that we're limited. Michigan — nobody cares. We're in the Big Ten, we have to find a way. And we're committed to finding a way and we're committed to doing it the right way. Getting these guys and getting them better. Getting our players better, helping them become better people, better students, better everywhere. And then, at the end of the day, if we're doing that, hopefully those wins come along with it."

Sprinkle isn't using the financial side of things as an excuse for lack of results. In his previous two seasons as head coach, the team is 29-35 overall and 11-29 against Big Ten competition.

However, the lack of funds has had a noticeable impact on recruiting. The team had two international commitments from this past offseason (Wini Braga — Brazil; Tristan Devers — Australia) and has players from five different countries on the roster. Eight of the 15 players on the roster are in their third year of college ball or later. That number includes several transfer portal additions, including fifth-year wing LeJuan Watts (transferred from Texas Tech ) and fourth-year point guard Ryan Beasley (transferred from San Francisco).

"It's hard," Fisch said. "But like I said, our athletic department, we're fighting every day. We are. Our athletic department, we're fighting every day to help these kids get paid more and to get out and find companies locally to help with (Name, Image and Likeness deals). Literally working their tail off. The coaches, everybody here from soccer to track to football, women's basketball. We are all doing everything we can. ... Making the jump to the Big Ten, and I think our fans are figuring this out, it's a lot harder than we thought. It's not the Pac-12. From a travel standpoint, from the teams we play — I'm just speaking for men's basketball — it's completely different."

It'll be a tough task for Sprinkle and the rest of the team to remain competitive year-over-year against the better-funded teams in the Big Ten, but the team has no choice but to try.

The first step for Sprinkle and UW to reach that goal is to post a winning overall and conference season. The 2026-27 campaign will begin against the Colgate Red Raiders at 7 p.m. PT on Nov. 2 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle.