The Univ. of Louisville Athletic Association on Tuesday "reported athletic revenue of $74.936 million for the 2010-11 fiscal year," a $22.5M increase from '09-10 and $10.5M "more than projected," according to Eric Crawford of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. The total revenue "created a surplus of roughly $7 million, most of which will be designated to a contingency fund for debt payments on" the school's newly expanded Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. UL AD Tom Jurich said, "We did better than we expected. This year was magical. ... But I think we still have some surprises ahead of us. I think we've got another full year of expenses before we really know how things are going to go." Expenses on the facilities for the last fiscal year "ran higher than projections by about $3 million." UL Senior Associate AD Kevin Miller said that having "one fewer home football game this year was another reason to budget conservatively for 2011-12." Revenue from the football program "had plummeted to $12.8 million" in '09, but it "rose sharply to a school-record $21.5 million in the first season of the expanded 52,000-seat facility." The men's basketball program "generated a record $24.765 million in 2010-11," with suite rentals at KFC Yum! Center "accounting for $5.7 million and ticket sales another $14 million." Overall, "donations -- most in the form of annual seat donations -- were the main area that came in above projections, $4.6 million higher, and were the biggest pleasant surprise for school officials" (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 8/10).
