Premiership Rugby and others must look into addressing 'underfunding' - Exeter's Tony Rowe
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Tony Rowe has been the driving force behind Exeter's rise from the lower leagues to European champions
Exeter chief executive Tony Rowe says the authorities running rugby union must look into finding ways of increasing funding available to clubs.
London Irish went into administration last week, while Wasps and Worcester were removed from the top flight earlier this season after money issues.
Rowe bought a stake in a hotel at Sandy Park last December to help pay off government-backed Covid-19 loans.
"It's been a financially challenging time for all of us," Rowe said.
"But what I guess it has shown is just how underfunded the game of rugby itself truly is.
"That's something not only clubs have to address moving forward, but it's also for the likes of Premiership Rugby and those who run the game in this country to really look into.
"We can't afford to stand still in any shape or form. For the game to grow in the manner we all want, we have to be looking at developing every aspect of it, both on and off the field," he told the club website.
As well as selling its 75% stake in the hotel - which the Chiefs say was a £40m project, external - the club have also seen high-earning star names such as Stuart Hogg, Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds, Joe Simmonds and Dave Ewers all leave the club this summer.
Exeter were profitable before the Covid-19 pandemic, largely because of the successful conferencing and events side of their business at Sandy Park.
Rowe feels that stream of funding will continue to return and help fund the club.
Exeter's women are preparing for a Premier 15s final later this month while the men - who reached the semi-finals of the European Champions Cup this season - aim to return to the Premiership's top four after missing out on the play-offs for a second successive campaign.
"The squads we are assembling for the new season are hugely exciting and clearly with an eye to the long-term future as well," Rowe said.
"We have never been a club who look for a short-term fix, we've always had a vision of where we want to go, how we want to get there and a realistic time frame of how long that will be.
"Our success in recent years has been built around having those solid foundations and that is what we will continue to do as we look to attack next season and beyond."