Wisconsin's athletic budget will be $132.4M for the '17-18 school year, up from $121.8M this year, but UW Associate AD/Business Operations Mario Morris said that the increase is "due in large part to a new method of tracking payments" to the university, according to Todd Milewski of the WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL. Next year’s budget includes $10.9M in cash revenue that "will be transferred to campus." Morris said that previously, most of that money "wouldn’t have been accounted for in the athletics budget because it went directly to the school." The athletics budget proposal projected revenues of $132.5M and a "surplus of nearly $153,000" in '17-18. UW budgeted for $41.5M in media rights revenue from the Big Ten next year, "more than double" the $20.1M it planned on receiving in the current year. About $5.8M of that $41.5M is "designated to go to campus," but the remainder is still a 97% increase for athletics. Besides conference media revenue, the $10.9M being set aside for campus includes $2M for licensing, $2M toward the $5M purchase of the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center, $600,000 for the UW band and $550,000 for parking (WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL, 2/9).
