Extra spending is related to one-time football transition costs as well as the team's coaching staff additionsgetty images
Univ. of Kansas Athletics added nearly $8M to its FY '19 budget "after proposing the change at a board meeting," with "almost all of that money needed to cover football expenses," according to Jesse Newell of the K.C. STAR. KU's original approved budget for FY '19 was for "just more" than $99M. That was bumped to north of $107M Thursday, with KU CFO Pat Kaufman noting that a "majority of the extra spending was related to one-time football transition costs and also coaching staff additions," which include Les Miles coming on as head coach. KU Athletic's plan to cover the $8M deficit will be with an "increase in contributions." After originally budgeting that number at $20.2M for '19, KU's new budget listed the amount at $28.49M -- an improvement of more than $8M. Kaufman said that "excitement from a recent Final Four run in men's basketball and an understanding from fans that money was needed for football" were "reasons for the increase." KU also will get a "windfall with its Adidas contract extension," receiving $11M in '20 as compared to $4.3M in '19. However, KU is also "budgeting for a significant stepback with contributions," planning on $22.7M in '20 compared to $28.5M in '19 -- a decrease of almost $5.8M (K.C. STAR, 6/7).
DEVELOPING A PLAN: In Lawrence, Dylan Lysen notes KU Athletics will "soon meet with four consultant organizations that are vying to be selected to help the department develop a facilities master plan." KU AD Jeff Long said that the plan is to "give the department a guiding reference to construct new facilities and renovate current facilities over the next 15 to 20 years." It will also "help the department" with its planned $300M renovation to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium, which is "expected to begin in the next few years." KU Athletics will "look into what fans want out of the stadium, what they are willing to pay to use those amenities, and how the department is going to raise money to fund those renovations." Long said that the plan could also "look into finding new ways to use the stadium for more than just football games in the fall" (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD, 6/7).
