The University of Hawaii athletic department said it is making progress reducing its deficit and should finish under earlier projections as well as last year’s figure when the current fiscal year closes.

Instead of the $4.5 million-$4.8 million deficit the Board of Regents had been told to expect earlier, athletic director David Matlin said Tuesday the revised figure is projected to be “$3.8 million-$4 million” when the 2016 fiscal year ends June 30.

UH had a $4.2 million deficit for the 2015 fiscal year, according to an independent audit report.

“No question it (2016) is better than what we had (initially) forecast even as our costs continue to go up,” Matlin said.

Matlin said a $300,000-$400,000 saving was realized in operating expenses by the 21-team athletic department, which operates on an approximately $39 million budget.

In addition, he said, men’s basketball revenue was higher than originally projected and concession income at the Stan Sheriff Center was up significantly, in part due to sold-out exhibitions featuring the Los Angeles Lakers. UH also received $150,000 from Aloha Stadium’s field naming rights that had not been budgeted.

Matlin said lower than expected revenues for football, the crossover of hiring a new football coaching staff while the outgoing staff was being paid, lower-than-expected donation levels to Ahahui Koa Anuenue, the department’s fundraising organization, and some retroactive personnel expenses tied to collective bargaining kept UH from further reducing the deficit.

Football, while it generates a profit across its various revenue streams, was expected to fall more than $700,000 short of ticket revenue projections.

The 21-team department has run at a deficit for 12 of the past 14 years. Just 24 of 230 Division I members met the NCAA’s self-sufficiency benchmarks in 2014, according to a USA Today report. The University of Washington recently announced a projected $14.8 million deficit.