The University of Utah anticipates amassing a record $10.6 billion in total revenue this coming fiscal year, despite state and federal funding uncertainty.

That number was presented for the first time during a U. board of trustees meeting this month. It comes after state legislators passed a new law requiring that the governing boards of public universities annually review and approve budget projections publicly.

“Total revenues have grown pretty substantially,” said Gary McArthur, the U.’s newly appointed chief financial officer.

Since 2021, the university’s total revenue has grown at a rate of about 60%.

At that time, reeling from the pandemic, the university’s total revenue was $6.6 billion, including operating revenues (tuition and state appropriations) and non-operating revenues (investment income and gifts).

In fiscal 2026, the U. brought in $10.2 billion in total revenues, according to early estimates as the school wraps up final accounting for that period, which ended June 30.

McArthur said the university’s budget has done well weathering the challenges over the past few years.

That includes the state Legislature in 2025 instituting a $60.5 million cut and reallocation across all public colleges and universities in the state, of which the U. shouldered a $19.6 million share. That didn’t ultimately change the bottom line, but McArthur said it was a difficult process.

The Trump administration also signficantly slashed university research funding nationwide. As of March, the U. has seen the federal government terminate 79 grants, valued at around $28.6 million. That comes out of what is usually around a $700 million annual pool of research funding at the school.

“If you think about the environment we find ourselves in, it’s not all roses,” McArthur said, including federal cuts he expects to continue.

University of Utah Health projections

The U.’s health care arm continues to see specific impacts from the 2025 passage of President Donald Trump’s favored “Big Beautiful Bill,” McArthur said.

Under that, many low-income patients lost Medicaid coverage, and hospitals largely have to pick up the costs.

Still, total revenues for everything under University of Utah Health are expected to go up this fiscal year, but by a smaller margin than the past three years.

That dollar amount is projected to hit $7.5 billion, including U. Health’s academic operations and insurance entity. The hospital and clinics make up $4.6 billion of that.

After expenses, the system overall is projected to see a $303 million operating gain. U. Health and ARUP Laboratories are calculated into the U.’s overall budget.

The health system is also growing: a new hospital is under construction in West Valley City, a new cancer hospital is in the works in Vineyard and a new health campus is planned for the Point of the Mountain in Draper.

Those three projects alone will mean $5 billion in spending over the next five years, McArthur estimated, which is largely coming from donations and operating performance.

Of all its operations, the University of Utah collects the most money from patient services through its health care side. It anticipates bringing in nearly $6.7 billion in fiscal 2027.

University-wide budgeting

Total, the U. expects to see an operating gain, minus depreciation, of $530 million for fiscal 2027.

That’s up from $509 million in fiscal 2026.

McArthur credits two things:

• Student enrollment growth. The U. saw more than 38,000 students enroll in fall 2025, up from 34,464 in fall 2021. More are expected this fall semester, starting Aug. 24. That means more money collected in student tuition and fees, which are estimated to bring in $581 million in fiscal 2027.

• A productive endowment fund built from donations invested in the market. That has nearly doubled since 2020, when it was just over $1 billion. It now sits at $2.1 billion. The U. takes out of that about 5% a year to cover various university expenses.

Mark Siddoway, president of Cynosure Capital Management, which manages the U.’s endowment, said he would like to see returns on endowment investments grow even more to help the school become one of the nation’s top 10 public universities, as U. President Taylor Randall has aimed.

The U.’s endowment, Siddoway said, is “tiny compared to the other schools that are in the top 10.”

McArthur said he also would like to see the state Legislature appropriate more to the U. For fiscal 2027, the state will delegate an estimated $586 million to the university. That’s 6% of the U.’s revenues, McArthur noted.

The biggest expense for the U. overall is for salaries, wages and benefits. That accounts for 55% of all university spending, at $5.5 billion.

What about athletics?

Another area that’s challenging for the U., McArthur said, is athletics.

Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan has previously said his department is facing a possible $30 million deficit. That’s because of conference changes and the House v. NCAA settlement, which created an eligible $20.5 million salary pool for student-athletes at any school.

In response to that, the U. announced and recently signed a deal for a private equity partnership, hoping to infuse up to $500 million into its athletics operations.

Private-equity firm Otro Capital will back the newly formed private company Crimson Brand Partners. The U. will own a majority share in that, and the company will be tasked with running ticket sales and events at a higher profit margin.

“Is that a solve for all of our challenges in athletics? Not at all,” McArthur said. “But is it doing the right things to keep us in the game and moving forward? Absolutely.”

McArthur’s fiscal 2027 projections show athletics continuing to operate at a deficit, as the department has since fiscal 2024, when it saw a $17 million shortfall.

This fiscal year, McArthur estimates an $11 million-dollar hole, with athletics bringing in $118 million and spending $129 million. But non-operating incomes (including donations) could possibly erase that, his projections anticipate.