LAWRENCE — Kansas Athletics operated with a surplus of more than $9 million during fiscal year 2022, according to the department’s NCAA financial statement for that time period.
The excess of just over $9.3 million, total operating revenue over total operating expenses, followed the department’s expected rebound as it continues to walk away from the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. FY 2021 had a quoted deficit of just over $1.8 million, following a quoted surplus of $14,564 in FY 2020. In FY 2019, Kansas had a surplus of just over $1.8 million. 12.6 million.
Here are some points from the report for fiscal 2022:
That’s different than what the Kansas Athletics board was told, and a KU board member explains why
During the Kansas Athletics board meeting last November, Pat Kaufman spoke about how the department had done financially for fiscal 2022. Kaufman, the chief financial officer and executive associate athletic director, detailed the surplus as little more than of $1 million. Revenue was in the $106 million range and expenses in the $105 million range.
Here’s what Kaufman told the Topeka Capital-Journal this month when asked about why these figures differ from the NCAA’s financial statement.
“The financials we report to the Board of Directors are intended to show the results of strictly cash athletic operations,” Kaufman said in a statement. “For the NCAA financial report, we are following their guidelines, which have specific instructions on what and what not to include in the results and therefore should not be taken as a true financial statement. The NCAA report provides income and expense information in an income statement format only. The report to the Board also includes items that (affect) balance sheet and cash flow, but not income and expenses. For example; NCAA filing includes $3.2 million of donor pledges as revenue related to capital projects, which we do not consider a portion of our annual operating results because money related to these pledges is not available for use in operating activities .
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Expenditures increased, but revenues did more
Kansas reported approximately $14.5 million more in total operating expenses in FY 2022 than in FY 2021 (just over $108.5 million, compared to just over $94 million), but this has not led to a report of a significant deficit. Kansas actually had a little over $25.5 more in total operating revenue for 2022 than it did for 2021 (about $118 million, up from just over $92 million). Thus, Kansas was able to report its surplus for 2022.
Significant increases in revenue over expenses for men’s basketball and soccer were a major reason for the glut. Men’s basketball went from a deficit of just over $9 million for 2021 to a surplus of just over $1.5 million for 2022. Soccer went from a surplus of just over $10 million for 2022. 2021 to a surplus of nearly $18 million for 2022.
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Tickets. Tickets. Tickets.
There would understandably have been increases in various expenses, such as game day costs, as more was possible on a day-to-day basis for FY2022 than in FY2021. Kansas spent approximately $4 million on expenses game after spending close to $1.5 million the year before. But there have also been increases in several categories of revenue, and especially ticket sales.
Kansas brought in nearly $18 million in ticket sales for 2022 after bringing in just under $3 million for 2021, a fiscal year heavily impacted by the pandemic. Soccer has been a big part of that, going from $522,440 for 2021 to just over $3.5 million for 2022. And men’s basketball has led the increase, going from just over $2 million for 2022. 2021 to just over $13 million for 2022.
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There were a handful of other notable differences between the last two fiscal years
When it came to revenue, comparing fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2021, Kansas’ take from media rights increased to just over $29.5 million from just over $27 million. NCAA distributions increased to about $4.5 million from about $2.5 million, as conference distributions of football bowl revenue increased to just over $12.5 million from just over $7 million. And that all helped, considering what Kansas brought in from the limited athletic endowment and investment income fell to just over $1 million — close to what it was for fiscal 2019 — from just over of $11 million.
As for expenses, when comparing fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2021, severance payments dropped to just under $2.5 million from just over $4.5 million, thanks, in part, to the less expense here regarding the soccer program. Kansas paid nearly $2 million for the recruiting, after spending $395,972 the previous year. And team travel costs have increased to more than $8.5 million from just over $4 million.
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Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas athletics at the Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association Sportswriter of the Year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.
