Kansas Athletics Reports Operating Profit This FY After Years Of Losses

Kansas Athletics "reversed the trend" of expenses exceeding revenues with an operating income of $4.3M in FY '19, following losses of $1.6M and $82,000 in FY '18 and FY '17 respectively, according to Lauren Fox of the LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD. Kansas Athletics -- which is its own nonprofit corporation but is wholly owned by the Univ. of Kansas -- "posted a profit by figuring out how to grow the department's revenues faster than its expenses," after KU's athletic department for a decade "consistently saw its expenses grow at a faster rate than its revenues." Kansas Athletics' total operating revenues -- which "include everything from ticket sales to contributions" -- were $114.7M in FY '19, up 11% from its total of $103.2M in FY '18. In a year when "much of KU's Lawrence campus was subjected to about a 6% budget cut," athletic department spending on operations grew by about 5% to $110.4M. KU AD Jeff Long said that a "good portion of the new spending went to the university's football program." The organization also "saw an increase in revenue from sponsorships, media and royalties," receiving $17.2M in FY '19 after it took in $16.5M in FY '18. Meanwhile, ticket sales were "down" in FY '19 compared to FY '18, "falling from" $20.6M to $19.4M (LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD, 11/22).