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MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014
PAGE 12
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
BUDGET
Board passes unlimited meal plan for athletes
BLAIR SHEADE
sports@kansan.com
The University Athletics Board of Directors voted on June 4 to allow unlimited meals for student-athletes, which will increase the Athletics budget by $500,000 this year.
The unlimited meal plan, a provision that was passed by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors on April 24, will be provided to full-scholarship student-athletes only and will be effective immediately at the University. Before the NCAA passed
the provision, all Division I universities provided three meals per day, or a stipend to pay for an equivalent amount of meals.
The unlimited meal provision is nearly half of the $1.2 million dollar total increase for student-athletes in the 2014-15 budget. The other half includes the tuition increase, housing and textbooks, according to the Board's Financial Director Pat Kaufman.
The overall budget will increase by seven percent for its second consecutive year. The seven percent increase
for this upcoming year would increase the budget by almost $6 million, bringing it to approximately $88 million.
The 2013 Athletics budget increased by approximately $5.4 million, according to the University operating budget. It sat at approximately $82 million during the previous year.
The Athletic Department can absorb that budget increase with an increase in revenue this upcoming year. Kaufman said the three main revenue sources are the Big 12 Conference, annual donations and ticket sales.
The largest revenue contribution to the budget comes from the Big 12 Conference after a recent television deal that will be distributing $220 million between 10 teams in the conference, giving $23 million to the University.
The Big 12 has its own budget of all revenue sources. These include bowl games, the NCAA basketball tournament and the television contract, which is the largest source. The Big 12 can determine how much it wants to set aside, and whatever falls out of that pot is distributed among its
teams, Kaufman said.
Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger also reported that 11 of the 18 University varsity sports advanced to the NCAA postseason this year—the most University teams competing in postseason play since a decade ago.
"I'm very proud of what the student-athletes and the coaches have accomplished," Zenger said.
— Edited by Tom DeHart
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